In Attack Targeting Civilians, Rampaging Haitian Gang Slaughters 70, Including Women, Infants

A blood-drenched, fiery horror scene played out in Haiti on Thursday, as a rampaging gang killed at least 70 people and injured 16 more. Mowed down by automatic weapons or choked to death by house-arson, the dead included three infants and 10 women, according to the UN’s human rights office.

In a troubling indicator of gang violence sprawling beyond the country’s capital, the bloodshed took place in the town of Pont-Sondé, which is located in the agricultural Artibonite department, about 60 miles north of Port-au-Prince. The carnage, which commenced around 3 am local time, prompted more than 6,000 to flee the town for their lives. 

“Today, once again, once too often, we are faced with the most absolute cowardice,” said Haitian Prime Minister Gary Conille in a social media post. “This heinous crime, perpetrated against defenseless women, men and children, is not only an attack on these victims, but on the entire Haitian nation.”