Seven Killed in Haiti Jail Break Attempt

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CROIX-DES-BOUQUETS, Haiti — At least seven people were killed and one injured on Thursday after several inmates tried to escape from a prison in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, witnesses said.

The episode occurred in northeast Port-au-Prince at the Croix-des-Bouquets Civil Prison, which is known for a 2014 breakout in which more than 300 inmates escaped.

Residents in the area said that they had observed a group of heavily armed men shoot at prison guards before the inmates began to flee.

One escapee, Jhon Hippolyte, 37, was shot in the back. He told The A.P. that he had been serving a murder sentence and was in the infirmary when he noticed everybody running and decided to join them.

A.P. journalists saw the bodies of at least seven men along streets near the prison. They appeared to have been shot. Their identities were not immediately available, and it wasn’t clear if they were inmates. It also wasn’t clear who had killed them.

Video captured by residents shows one police officer leading a group of men tied together with a rope. It wasn’t immediately clear if they were inmates.

The authorities could not be immediately reached for comment.



Source : Nytimes