Gunmen murders prominent journalist in Haiti

A prominent journalist was killed in northwestern Haiti. The gunman shot him 11 times outside his fiancee's house.

Photo: Gunmen murders prominent journalist in Haiti

Alix Joseph, director of private Radio Provinciale in the port town of Gonaives, was ambushed late Wednesday by two assailants as he sat in a car with his fiancee, who escaped unharmed, said Frantz Justin Altidor, a journalist at the station.

"She screamed 'Oh my God, they got us,' and started running. She thought Alix was right behind her," Altidor said. Colleagues returned hours later and found Joseph's body on the floor of the car.

Police have not identified suspects or established a motive.

Altidor said he did not know if Joseph, 38, had received threats, but said some people were unhappy with the station's reporting on local crime.

Altidor said Radio Provinciale and other stations in Gonaives went off the air Thursday to protest insecurity in in the town, a base for armed gangs blamed for a string of recent killings.

Last month, gunmen in the city shot and killed a former journalist with ties to ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide while he slept. His killers were not caught.

Attacks on journalists are common in Haiti, but they have dropped since the 2006 election of President Rene Preval, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.