American families are grieving as we enter the long, Memorial Day weekend over the news that two members of a nonprofit missionary group who hail from Missouri were murdered Thursday night during an ambush by a gang in Haiti. The victims’ family shared the heartbreaking details on social media; They were Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker’s daughter and son-in-law:
Davy and Natalie Lloyd, full-time missionaries to Haiti, were shot and killed at 9 p.m. Thursday, according to Missions In Haiti, Inc. Baker posted about the attack on Facebook and said the U.S. State Department has recovered the bodies of his loved ones.
Tragic. MO State Rep Ben Baker’s daughter and son-in-law were kiIIed last night by a violent gang of Hatians. They were missionaries in Haiti. Prayers up for his family 🙏🏻 @BenBakerMO pic.twitter.com/u0HFVFWFEG
— Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) May 24, 2024
State Rep, Baker wrote in the post:
“My heart is broken in a thousand pieces. I’ve never felt this kind of pain. They went to Heaven together. 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.”
Davy and Natalie Lloyd got married in 2022, then soon after, joined the nonprofit Christian ministry, Missions In Haiti, which had been established in the troubled island nation for over two decades. But on Thursday, the nonprofit says it started receiving distressing messages from the couple via satellite internet:
….Davy, Natalie and several children were at a youth group gathering at church on Thursday when “they were ambushed by a gang of 3 trucks full of guys.”
“Davy was taken to the house tied up and beat. The gang then took our trucks and loaded everything up they wanted and left,” Missions In Haiti said in a social media post.
The group recounted that “another gang” went to the scene “to see what was going on and if they could help, so they say.”
“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,” Missions In Haiti said.
The nonprofit’s post continued:
Davy, Natalie and another individual named Jude were in the house, communicating what was happening to Missions In Haiti via Starlink satellite internet. As they hid, the gangs began shooting at the house, according to Missions In Haiti.
Missions in Haiti lost contact with the missionaries. Hours later, they posted that Davy, Natalie and Jude were killed in the attack.
You can read Missions in Haiti’s full post here.
Former President Trump reacted to the horrific news of the missionaries’ deaths in a Truth Social post, writing: “God bless Davy and Natalie. Such a tragedy. Haiti is totally out of control. Find the killers NOW!!!”
As we previously reported, American YouTuber, Addison Pierre Maalouf, was kidnapped by a Haitian gang earlier in 2024 while he was in the country trying to interview Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier, a former police officer and the leader of the notorious G9 and Family gang, although he was released in April. The gang that held Maalouf is known as the 400 Mawozo gang.
My colleague Brittany Sheehan wrote: (emphasis mine)
The 400 Mawozo gang (“400 lame men”), led by Joseph Wilson, known as “Lanmò San Jou,” is the largest criminal group in Haiti. This gang has established dominance in Croix-des-Bouquets and other areas through numerous kidnappings, including the high-profile abduction of 17 Western missionaries in 2021.
Read More: American YouTuber Kidnapped in Haiti After Trying to Meet Gang Leader ‘Barbecue’
It’s unclear whether there’s a connection between Maalouf’s abduction and what happened to the missionaries. According to the KOAM story linked above, the FBI is offering to pay up to $2 million as a reward for information about “one man’s involvement in killing a missionary in 2022.”
In the meantime, if you’re moved to show support, friends of the Lloyd and Baker families set up a page at GoFundMe to help them. At the time of this writing, it had raised $25,000; the goal was $20,000.
