Three missionaries, including daughter of Missouri politician, killed in Haiti gang attack

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Three missionaries, including the daughter of Missouri state representative Ben Baker and her husband, were killed in an attack by gangs in the Haitian capital city of Port-au-Prince on Thursday (May 23) evening.

The American couple - Davy and Natalie Lloyd and the director of an Oklahoma-based missionary group 45-year-old Jude Montis were the victims of the gang attack. 

In a social media post, Baker wrote that the couple "were attacked by gangs this evening and were both killed." "They went to Heaven together," he added. 

All three were affiliated with Missions in Haiti, Inc. The mission was reportedly operated by Davy Lloyd’s parents for over 20 years. Alicia Lloyd, who co-founded Missions in Haiti with her husband David Lloyd, confirmed the deaths of their son 23-year-old son Davy as well as his 21-year-old wife Natalie in the incident. 

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David Lloyd told a media outlet about the last conversation he held with his son on the day of the attack. According to David Lloyd, Davy and Natalie were ambushed as they left church.

A post on Missions in Haiti’s Facebook page shared that Davy was taken to the house, tied up and beaten by a gang. Later, the gang filled the mission's trucks with everything they wanted to steal and left. 

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In a later update in the incident, the organisation after a gap of three hours reported that the missionaries were killed by the gang at about 9 o'clock this evening. "We all are devastated," it posted. 

Haitian Emergency Response Operations (HERO) retrieved the bodies and transported the remains of the American couple to a hospital morgue.

Lloyd's mother Alicia revealed that after the initial beating, neighbours checked on her son, but a second gang’s arrival escalated the situation.

Last conversation with son 

David Lloyd recounted his last conversation with his son during the attacks. The mission and church across the street had security, but when they came out they were overwhelmed when three pickup trucks filled with armed men arrived.

Despite Davy’s desperate call for help, his father could not locate assistance. “He was begging me to find someone to get in there and help him, and I did all I could but I couldn’t locate anybody.”

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 Haiti has faced turmoil for decades, with gang violence surging after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. In early 2024, unprecedented gang violence broke out in Haiti with 2,500 casualties from gang-related incidents. 

(With inputs from agencies)