Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse has been killed in an attack at his home in the nation’s capital, Port-au-Prince, in the early hours of Wednesday.
The BBC is reporting that interim prime minister Claude Joseph said the president’s home in Port-au-Prince was stormed by unidentified armed men at 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT).
First Lady Martine Moïse was injured in the attack.
Joseph said that “all measures had been taken to guarantee the continuity of the state”.
The BBC further reports that he has now taken control of the impoverished Caribbean nation, and has urged the public to remain calm.
He called the shooting of the president a “heinous, inhuman and barbaric act”.
Haiti’s opposition said that Moïse’s five-year term should have ended on 7 February 2021, five years to the day since his predecessor, Michel Martelly, stepped down.
Moïse had insisted he had one more year to serve as he did not take office until 7 February 2017.