The daughter of a Missouri state representative and her husband were killed in Haiti after being attacked by gangs, the representative, Ben Baker, said.
David Lloyd III and his wife, Natalie, who were full-time missionaries, were attacked by gangs Thursday evening and were both killed, Baker announced in a Facebook post. David was 23 and Natalie was 21.
Haiti has been in turmoil for decades and increasingly under the control of gangs, which have taken over most of the capital city of Port-au-Prince, including police stations.
Missions in Haiti Inc., a nonprofit organization, said in a Facebook post that the couple was ambushed by three trucks full of men. The post, written before the organization had confirmed the couple’s deaths, described a violent and chaotic scene and warned that their lives were in danger.
David Lloyd was taken to a house, tied up and beaten, the organization said, adding that the gang then took their trucks, “loaded everything up they wanted and left.”
“Another gang came after to see what was going on and if they could help, so they say,” Missions in Haiti Inc. said. “No one understood what they were doing, not sure what took place, but one was shot and killed and now this gang went into full-attack mode.”
It is not clear who authored the Facebook post but the person, speaking on behalf of the missionary organization, said that the couple and another person were in a house and had attempted to call them. The post went on to say that the gangs had shot all the windows out of the house and attempts to get a police armored car to evacuate the missionaries to safety were unsuccessful. The organization said in the post that it had tried to negotiate with the gang and offer them money to let the couple go but concluded the post by saying it had lost communications.
In a separate statement on its Facebook page posted just hours later, the organization announced that the couple had been killed at about 9 p.m.
“We all are devastated,” that statement said.
“My heart is broken in a thousand pieces,” Baker said in his Facebook post. “I’ve never felt this kind of pain.”
“They went to Heaven together,” he wrote. “Please pray for my family we desperately need strength. And please pray for the Lloyd family as well. I have no other words for now.”
Baker, a Republican, was first elected to a two-year term in 2018.
Missions in Haiti Inc. was founded in 2000 by David’s parents, David and Alicia Lloyd, who have had a presence in Haiti since 1998, according to the organization’s website.
Its ministries consist of a home for boys, another for children, two churches and three schools all funded by U.S. supporters, the website says.
An undated post on the website announced David and Natalie joining the organization. “We are excited to have them join us in Haiti!” it said.
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