American missionaries killed by Haitian gangs

The Oklahoma-based missionary organization Missions in Haiti Inc. early Friday morning said that gang members killed two of its members, Davy and Natalie Lloyd. Another man, identified by his first name of Jude, also died, the organization said. Other individuals and ministry organizations identified Jude as an assistant to the organization in Haiti. 

What happened? Hours earlier on Thursday night, Missions in Haiti had posted on social media requesting prayers after it said the Lloyds and Jude were involved in an altercation with gang members. The organization said at least one person in the group had holed up in a house and connected with other ministry leaders via Starlink phone. Ministry leaders at the time were working their connections to get the police to the scene or to possibly pay gang members to leave, according to the social media post.

What are the ministries of Missions in Haiti? The organization has operated a school, church, bakery,  and shelters for children on a compound in the Bon Repos neighborhood on the north side of Port-au-Prince. Missions in Haiti wrote in a March newsletter it was able to continue operating its Good Hope School, where roughly 450 students attend classes. Additionally, Good Hope Church had been open every Sunday for services during that time despite shootings in the area. 

With widespread violence in Haiti, had the missionaries experienced violence earlier? The school closed for two weeks in early February because of a gun battle a half-mile away between rival gangs, according to the newsletter.

Who were the Lloyds? Davy and Natalie Lloyd had worked full-time for the organization for at least a year, according to a May 2023 newsletter. Davy’s parents, David and Alicia Lloyd, founded Missions in Haiti in 2000, according to the group’s website. Alicia’s mother, Wanda McCrate, has also been involved in the mission. The nonprofit group is based in Claremore, Okla., according to ProPublica.org. 

Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker identified Natalie Lloyd as his daughter in a social media post where he said he and his family were heartbroken and needed prayer. “They went to Heaven together,” he said of his daughter and her husband.

How are others responding to this? WORLD contacted the U.S. State Department late Friday afternoon. A spokesperson issued a written statement saying the agency was aware of reports of their deaths, offered condolences to the family, and stood ready to provide consular assistance. The agency declined to comment further out of respect for the family.

Jean Marc Brissau, a staff attorney with The Law School of Notre Dame’s Global Human Rights Clinic,  told WORLD on Friday that the deaths of the Lloyds were another crime that should not have happened. Brissau, who is Haitian-born, has family in Haiti and has worked there. He called the gangs in the country “terrorists.” He said he hoped God would bring comfort to the Lloyd family.

Dig deeper: Read Travis Kircher’s report in World Tour about missionaries seeking to help orphans and children in Haiti amid the country’s descent into violence.