Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise was killed during an attack on his private residence early on Wednesday, according to the country’s acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph. 

Joseph said in a statement that a group of unidentified individuals attacked Moise’s home at around 1 a.m. and fatally wounded the head of state. The statement does not specify how the President was killed. Haiti’s first lady was shot and is receiving treatment, he added.

The Prime Minister called the assassination a “heinous, inhumane and barbaric act” and called for calm.

“The security situation in the country is under the control of the Haitian National Police and the Haitian Armed Forces,” the statement added. “All measures are being taken to guarantee the continuity of the State and to protect the Nation.

The US Embassy in Haiti issued a security alert following the news of the assassination. It said in a statement that it would be closed on Wednesday due to the “ongoing security situation.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the attack a “tragedy.” “It’s a horrific crime,” Psaki told CNN. “We stand ready and stand by them to provide any assistance that is needed … it’s important that people of Haiti know that.” She added that the White House was assessing the situation and gathering information. 

Worsening situation

Rival groups have battled with one another or the police for control of the streets, displacing tens of thousands of people and worsening the country’s humanitarian crisis. Infamous ex-police officer Jimmy Cherizier last week vowed before local media to carry out a “revolution” in the city.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic has been worsening in Haiti in recent weeks. Last month, Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of Pan American Health Organization, warned that the response in the country must be scaled up dramatically to cope with sharply escalating cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Haiti has reported more than 19,000 Covid-19 cases and 462 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.

At the same time, the country — the poorest in Latin America — is facing a dire economic situation. Its economy had been contracting even before the pandemic and shrunk further 3.8% in 2020, with about 60% of the population now living in poverty, according to the World Bank.UNICEF, the United Nations’ children’s agency, said in May that severe acute childhood malnutrition is expected to more than double in Haiti this year as it deals with rising violence, Covid-19 and a lack of access to essential services.(CNN)