CAP-HAITIEN — A hospital was forced to close its doors following an attack by an armed group that tried to abduct a patient, Le Nouvelliste reported.
The incident at Hopital Sacré-Coeur in Milot, Cap-Haitien, began around 2 a.m. on Nov. 1. The group had arrived in search of a patient, who had been stabbed at a Vodou ceremony earlier that night. When hospital staff refused to hand over the patient, the group set fire to the laboratory and hospital archives, smashed the windows of more than a dozen vehicles, including ambulances, and attempted to destroy the generator powering the building.
Dr. Harold Prévil, executive director of the hospital, described the attack as an act of terrorism, and believes that former employees who had been fired over embezzling money were involved.
The Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) urges the Haitian police and judicial authorities to make every effort to find and bring to justice the perpetrators of this incident. In a note, the MSPP denounced the acts of aggression and vandalism and said it stands in solidarity with the hospital staff, patients and family members who were “traumatized by this unspeakable act.” Read more