On Saturday, gunmen attempted to assassinate Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry during an event that commemorated the Caribbean country’s independence, the New York Times reports.
“Bandits and terrorists,” the statement said, had tried to shoot the prime minister at a church in the northern city of Gonaïves at a ceremony celebrating the country’s 218th anniversary of independence.
Video footage that was shown on social media captured Henry and his entourage racing to their vehicles while an armed group of assailants began shooting outside the cathedral.
The police, who described the assassination attempt as the work of “armed groups,” could not confirm casualties but Haitian media claimed that the mass shooting killed one person and injured two more.
Before the incident happened, the leader of a local gang made open threats against Henry, according to local media outlets. As EBONY previously reported, gangs have had a stronghold on the country since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July.
Since his swearing in ceremony as Haiti's prime minister two weeks after Moïse’s death, Henry’s administration has faced a plethora of challenges that have been devastating to the West Indian nation's immediate future.
The country has yet to establish a date to elect a new president.
