Two men including a photojournalist have been shot and injured by senator Jean Marie Ralph Féthière, who opened fire outside the country’s parliament, amid chaotic scenes as the government attempts to confirm the appointment of a new prime minister.
A bullet grazed Chery Dieu-Nalio, an AP photographer, in the face, but he was not seriously wounded. Dieu-Nalio and Leon Leblanc, a security guard and driver, were taken to hospital after the incident.
Before they left, Leblanc told reporters he had seen Jean Marie Ralph Féthière, a senator from the north of the country, draw a handgun as he tried to leave the parliamentary precincts through a crowd of protesters.
Another senator, Patrice Dumont, said Féthière warned the crowd he would shoot if they did not let him leave. He said the woundings were not intentional.
The incident came as the Haitian senate attempted to meet for the second time in two days to confirm the appointment of a new prime minister, Fritz-William Michel.