The perpetrators were members of the Viv Ansanm gang coalition, who brought activities in the Arcahaie commune to a standstill.

The Haitian National Police intervened and neutralized six gang members in the ensuing exchange of gunfire, the online newspaper Haiti Libre reported.

Local media outlets noted that since 2014, gang members have attacked the port, schools, universities, police stations, prisons, ministries, bank branches, community warehouses, and the National Printing Office, which published its first work in 1804.

They also set fire to a 96,000-square-meter warehouse in the free trade zone. They also attacked private cars, a religious seminary, Haiti’s first Baptist church, which had been established for over 180 years, and more than a dozen pharmacies.

In April 2024, demonstrating their seriousness, they burned down the house of Frantz Elbé, then commander-in-chief of the Haitian National Police.

Their record became more notorious when they opened fire on a Spirit Airlines plane during its landing maneuver, forcing it to crash in the Dominican Republic with a flight attendant injured.

arm/mem/joe