Shots were fired Sunday during a demonstration to demand that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide be tried on charges of corruption and violence by armed militants. At least five people were killed, including a foreign journalist, and more than a dozen were injured.
Witnesses blamed Aristide militants for opening fire, but that could not immediately be confirmed. Peacekeepers said there were dead and injured, but refused to immediately give details.
The foreign journalist was shot in the stomach and died at a private hospital, where two other bodies were taken. Blood covered the floor as the emergency room filled with more than a dozen injured.
Among them was Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel photographer Michael Laughlin, 37, who was shot in the shoulder and face. He was in stable condition at the hospital.
After the shooting, a truck with speakers bolted to its frame paraded around the palace, blasting music. One man speaking over a loudspeaker shouted at the U.S. Marines: “People are dying every day in this country. You have to do something about it.”
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Compiled from RedEye news services and edited by Patrick Olsen (polsen@tribune.com) and Drew Sottardi (dsottardi@tribune.com)
