What we know about the young missionaries and religious leaders killed in Haiti

A bus passes a police officer on patrol near the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

The local director of a mission group in Haiti and a couple of American missionaries were attacked and fatally shot by gang members after leaving a youth group activity at a church, a member of the group said. family to the Associated Press.

The murders Thursday of Jude Montis, local director of Missions in Haiti Inc., and Davy and Natalie Lloyd, a young married couple from the United States, took place in the community of Lizon, north of Port-au-Prince . They were killed as the capital collapses under relentless assaults by violent gangs who control 80% of the capital while authorities await the arrival of a police force from Kenya in a deployment backed by UN aiming to quell gang violence in the troubled Caribbean. country.

Here are some things to know about missionary work helping Haiti's children and the gang attack that claimed three lives.

WORK IN HAITI

The Missions in Haiti website says its goal is to “see the Gospel of Christ make a difference in the lives of Haiti's youth.”

Davy Lloyd's parents, David and Alicia Lloyd of Oklahoma, started the organization in 2000 with the goal of focusing on the children of Haiti. David and Alicia Lloyd are full-time missionaries in Haiti.

“Although the entire nation is plunged into poverty, it is children who suffer the most,” they wrote on the website. “Thousands of people are malnourished, uneducated and headed for a life of despair without Christ. »

Hannah Cornett, Davy's sister, told The Associated Press that they grew up in Haiti. Davy Lloyd went to the United States to attend a Bible college and married Natalie in June 2022. After the wedding, the couple wasted no time moving to Haiti to do humanitarian work.

Cornett said Montis, a Haitian, had worked in missions in Haiti for 20 years.

The organization's efforts include House of Compassion, which provides housing for 36 children – 18 boys and 18 girls, the website states. “All are destined to stay at the House of Compassion until they have completed their studies and are ready to live on their own.”

Good Hope Boys' Home is home to 22 boys, the website says. The organization also built a church, a bakery and a school serving more than 240 students, the website says.

THE ATTACK

A Facebook post on the Haiti Missions page said Davy Lloyd, 23, and Natalie Lloyd, 21, along with some children, were leaving a church when gang members in three trucks ambushed them .

Davy Lloyd then called his family to tell them that gang members had hit him in the head with the barrel of a gun, forced him upstairs, stole their belongings and had left tied up, Cornett said.

As people helped untie Davy Lloyd, another group of armed men arrived, Cornett said.

“Nobody understood what they were doing, I'm not sure what happened, but one of them was shot and killed and now this gang has gone into full attack mode,” said the message from Missions in Haiti.

The couple and Montis fled to a house connected to the mission.

“They tried to hide there, but the gang broke into the house,” Cornett said.

Ben Baker, Natalie Lloyd's father and a Republican state representative in Missouri, posted on Facebook Friday that the bodies of Davy and Natalie Lloyd had been safely transported to the U.S. Embassy.

GRIEVING FAMILIES

Cornett said Montis left behind two children, ages 2 and 6.

Montis' family could not immediately be reached for comment Friday. It is unclear whether he used social media and, if so, whether his profiles are public. Missions in Haiti did not immediately respond to the AP's request for comment Friday.

Baker wrote on Facebook that his heart was broken “into a million pieces.”

“I have never felt this kind of pain,” Baker wrote. “Most of you know that my daughter and son-in-law Davy and Natalie Lloyd are full-time missionaries in Haiti. They were attacked by gangs this evening and were both killed. They went to heaven together. Please pray for my family, we desperately need strength. And please pray for the Lloyd family as well. I have no other words at the moment.

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Associated Press writer Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri, contributed.