Violent gang members in Port-au-Prince have massacred at least 47 people — many of whom were Christians — and burned down a sanctuary of an evangelical church. At least five of those who were killed were children, according to the UN.
The armed men also kidnapped over 50 others in the Kenscoff neighborhood of Haiti’s capital. A gang leader has threatened to kill the hostages if authorities harm any gang members.
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This attack, which took place Sunday, is believed to be one of the largest mass killings and kidnappings in Haiti in recent years. The horrific event challenges the belief that security in Haiti is improving. It might also be a show of force as Haiti prepares for general elections in December.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attack on Tuesday, noting that 22 of the victims were reportedly executed in a church compound where they had sought shelter.
Haitian Bishop Joseph Gontrand Décoste of Jérémie told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that churches and Christians as a whole are increasingly the targets of gang violence because believers remain the last stalwart resistance against wrongdoing.
“We are the last remaining bulkhead — moral, ethical, spiritual, and prophetic,” he said. “That is why they want to eliminate us.”
For context, about 40 Catholic parishes have shut down in Port-au-Prince as Christians have faced increasingly deadly violence. In the first seven months of 2026, two priests were abducted, and a seminarian was murdered. Last spring, two nuns from the Little Sisters of Saint Thérèse were killed and, in 2024, nine religious sisters, five brothers, and four priests were kidnapped.
ACN has reported that gangs control somewhere between 70% and 90% of the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
Kenscoff Mayor Jean Massillon said Tuesday that gangs also set fire to 25 homes and killed two government employees, including his cousin, who served as his security detail. “The atrocity of this crime reminds us that we have to continue working stronger every day to bring peace to the community,” Massillon said. “I’m optimistic that the state will continue working to eradicate the gangs in Kenscoff.”
PHOTO: Women weep at the site where their relatives were killed in a gang attack in the Kenscoff neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Gang violence has displaced a record 1.5 million people across Haiti, where more than 3,050 people were reported killed from January to June, according to new U.N. statistics released this week.
