Two reporters and one police officer were murdered in the incident, according to a journalist on the scene.
A witness to the attack informed the Reuters news agency that armed men opened fire on a gathering of journalists who were attending a government press conference to announce the reopening of Haiti’s main public hospital, killing at least three persons and injuring others.
According to a journalist at the site who wished to remain anonymous, two reporters and a police officer were slain on Tuesday.
Journalists were gathered on the hospital lobby floor when a flurry of bullets passed by, according to footage from local media that was livestreaming the attack. Some were bleeding, as if they had been struck.
“What happened today is unacceptable,” Haiti’s transitional presidential council leader, Leslie Voltaire, stated in a video statement.
In order to attend the press conference with Haiti’s new health minister in the downtown part of the city, Port-au-Prince, journalists were asked to come at the hospital starting at 8 a.m. (1300 GMT). Around 11 a.m., the shooting started while they were still waiting for the minister.
Gang assaults
The largest public hospital in the nation, the State University of Haiti Hospital, also referred to as the General Hospital locally, has been shuttered since a wave of gang violence in March that resulted in the overthrow of former prime minister Ariel Henry.
The hospital is located in the heart of Port-au-Prince, close to the Champ de Mars square, which has seen a number of gunfights and altercations between police and Viv Ansanm, a citywide gang alliance.
According to estimates, gangs control between 80 and 90 percent of the city, and neighboring nations have been slow to fulfill their pledges to provide security assistance for the Caribbean island.
To demonstrate their power over the government, armed gangs in Haiti have targeted hospitals, forcing the majority to close.
