An Associated Press photographer was wounded on September 24, in a shooting that erupted outside Haiti’s Senate when a Senator from the ruling party fired a pistol during a confrontation with Opposition protesters. Dieu-Nalio Chery was hit in the jaw by what appeared to be a fragment of one of the bullets fired by Sen. Ralph Fethiere. Chery was treated and released from a Port-au-Prince hospital and was expected to undergo further treatment this week to remove the object from his jaw. A Senate security guard also suffered what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the stomach.

“Thankfully, he is expected to be OK. While it does not appear he was targeted, this is a reminder of the danger journalists around the world face every day while doing their jobs, even on a routine assignment,” said Lauren Easton, AP’s global director of media relations and corporate communications.

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Senator Fethiere opens fire at crowd

Senators were convening Monday, September 23, to approve Fritz William Michel’s nomination as Prime Minister. Several hundred opposition supporters confronted Fethiere and other senators from the governing party. Fethiere pulled a pistol when protesters rushed at him and members of his entourage. Moments before the shooting, AP journalists saw supporters of about a half-dozen opposition senators approaching Fethiere, hurling dirt at him and accusing him of selling his vote in favour of Michel.

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The opposition is trying to block the formation of a new government in Haiti

The opposition is trying to block the formation of a new government as a way of pressuring President Jovenel Moise to leave the office. They blame Moise for failure to address pervasive corruption and mismanaging the economy. The country is running low on fuel and inflation is spiralling, leading to widespread public discontent. The vote to ratify Michel was cancelled, the second failed attempt to approve the president’s nominee after his approval by Haiti’s lower house. The capital was hit by a series of demonstrations and roadblocks Monday, leading to the latest in a string of near-complete shutdowns of Port-au-Prince that have further damaged the ailing economy. Fethiere told Haitian radio station Signal FM that he opened fire because he feared for his life.

“It was just self-defense,” he said. “Armed individuals tried to attack me ... They tried to pull me out of my car and I had to defend myself.”

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