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Suspect in killings of U.S. missionary couple and nonprofit chief arrested in Haiti
Police in Haiti have arrested a suspect in the fatal shooting of a U.S. missionary couple and a Haitian man who headed a nonprofit in an attack by gunmen earlier this year that stunned many in the troubled Caribbean country.
The May 23 killings of missionaries Davy Lloyd and his wife, Natalie Lloyd, and Jude Montis, the country’s director for Missions in Haiti Inc., a Claremore, Oklahoma organization, was blamed on gangs rampaging across Haiti’s capital and beyond.
The killings took place in the community of Lizon, in northern Port-au-Prince. The city has crumbled under the relentless violence of gangs that control as much as 80% of the Haitian capital.
A video posted on social media late Wednesday by Haiti’s National Police shows a 52-year-old man in handcuffs, accused of being involved in the killings of the Lloyds and Montis.
Arrests in high-profile killings are very rare in Haiti. In the video, the suspect denies any involvement in the killings. It wasn’t immediately clear if the man has been charged and if he has a lawyer.
Police claim the suspect’s phone was used to make calls after the killings, but the man rejected that accusation.
David Lloyd, the father of Davy Lloyd, told The Associated Press over the phone from Oklahoma on Thursday that he wasn’t aware of the circumstances behind the suspect’s arrest.
The young couple — Davy was 23 and Natalie just 21 — were supposed to celebrate their two-year wedding anniversary in June.
“They loved the Haitian people and were dedicated to that country,” Lloyd said of his son and daughter-in law.
Natalie Lloyd was the daughter of Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker. At the time of the killings, Baker said that his heart was “broken in a thousand pieces.”
David Lloyd said his son had called him the night of the attack, to tell him that gangs had forced them to open the mission gates and looted the compound before he abruptly hung up. He said his son and others came under gunfire before the gang broke into the home and killed them.
They later set the house on fire, Lloyd said, adding that more than about 100 gang members were believed to have participated in the attack. The Lloyds’ bodies were brought to the U.S. Embassy, Baker said in May, and were flown to Miami from Port au Prince a few days later. .
The mission compound has since closed, the first time in 26 years, and the children the mission served relocated to a safer community.
“There are too many gangs in the area,” Lloyd said. “The country as a whole seems hopeless.”
From January to May, more than 3,200 killings were reported across Haiti, with gang violence leaving more than half a million people homeless, according to the United Nations.
In February, gangs launched coordinated attacks on key government infrastructure, raided police stations and opened fire at the main international airport, forcing it to shut down for nearly three months. Gunmen also stormed into Haiti’s two biggest prisons, freeing thousands of inmates.
With Haitian authorities unable to deal with the chaos, a U.N.-backed police force from Kenya arrived in June to lead a multinational mission, nearly two years after Haiti’s government requested urgent deployment of a foreign force.
In the police video, a narrator says the investigation in the case is ongoing: “Whoever is involved in the killings, your turn will come up. You will be arrested.”
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9/12: CBS Evening News – CBS News
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Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa leaves field with concussion after collision with Bills’ Damar Hamlin
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was ruled out of Thursday night’s game with the Buffalo Bills because of a concussion after colliding with defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa, who has a history of dealing with head injuries, remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands, appeared to smile and departed for the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion.
Tagovailoa, who sustained multiple concussions his first three NFL seasons, positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards.
He signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left the game with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, which held as the final score.
Tagovailoa was hurt on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
He wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at Tagovailoa as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Skylar Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season.
Going into last season, Tagovailoa added muscle and spent time studying jiu-jitsu in an effort to learn how to fall more safely and try to protect himself against further injury.
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9/12: The Daily Report with John Dickerson
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