In a chaotic event, gangs that were armed with deadly weapons stormed prisons where members were held, after they were broken out, they began to cause havoc. Almost 4000 prisoners were broken out and 12 people were killed shortly after. The two stormed prisons included one in the capital, and one called Prison Civile de la Croix des Bouquets.

After the gangs escaped, they sent a message to the Prime Minister demanding him to resign. The Prime Minister traveled to Kenya a couple of days before to ask for Kenyan military support to deal with the national security problems. One gang leader named Jimmy Chérizier saw this as the perfect opportunity to launch a coordinated attack to “dethrone” the Prime Minister.

There were also prior protests to make the Prime Minister step down which he agreed to. He decided to step down on 7 February but then stated that he wanted “to stay as long as possible in charge,” and didn’t resign. This caused outrage in Haiti and violent protests were sparked throughout the country. The gangs began looting and carrying out brutal attacks, especially in the capital, which is Jimmy’s base of operations.

The country declared a 72-hour state of emergency on Sunday while the gangs ran wild in the streets of Haiti. Haitian media sources state that police stations were attacked, houses were raided, and people were killed on the street. The US embassy that is situated in Haiti’s capital on Sunday urged its citizens to leave Haiti “as soon as possible”. One journalist from a local Haitian news agency who visited the prison saw 10 bodies, all with what looked like bullet wounds. It seems like there are no signs of stopping the gang members until their demands for resignation have been met.