(11 Aug 2014)
Armed gang attack prison, freeing an undetermined number of inmates
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AP TELEVISION
Croix-des-Bouquets - 10 Aug 2014
1. Exterior of prison stormed by armed group
2. bullet holes on exterior prison wall above entrance
3. Vehicle with bullet holes in windshield and S.W.A.T vehicle outside prison
4. Wide of police outside prison
5. Recaptured prisoner being escorted back to jail
6. recaptured prisoner who was shot by police being carried back to prison on upturned wooden table
7. Armed police pushing back people gathered outside prison
329 prisoners escape following attempt to free son of a prominent businessman
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AP TELEVISION
Port-au-Prince - 11 August
8. Justice Minister Jean Renel Sanon (left), Minister for Public Security Pierre Cantave Neptune (centre) and National Police Chief Godson Orleus (right) at news conference
STORYLINE:
An armed gang attacked Haiti's main prison on August 10th 2014, freeing an undetermined number of inmates, according to authorities.
Officials said the freed prisoners included a member of a prominent family who faces kidnapping charges.
Police spokesman Gary Desrosiers told reporters the raid apparently was aimed at freeing Clifford Brandt, a businessman who has been imprisoned since 2012 on charges of kidnapping at least two children.
He said Haiti's government was offering a reward of about 25-thousand US dollars for information leading to the recapture of Brandt.
At least two guards suffered bullet wounds in the attack, which occurred shortly before noon at the Croix-des-Bouquets prison.
Desrosiers said officials were not sure how many of the 899 inmates escaped from the prison northeast of the capital, but he said 10 had been recaptured.
One recaptured prisoner, who was shot and injured by police, was carried back to jail on an upturned wooden table.
The prison was built in 2012 with Canadian financial aid to replace a prison devastated by the country's 2010 earthquake.
***
An intense search was underway on August 11th after 329 prisoners escaped from an overcrowded prison on the outskirts of the Haitian capital, according to authorities.
Their escape happened the previous day in an attack apparently aimed at freeing Clifford Brandt, the son of a prominent businessman held on kidnapping charges.
Speaking at a news conference in Port-au-Prince on Monday, National Police Chief Godson Orleus said that a nationwide search for the escaped prisoners was underway.
"They (armed group) attacked the guards, they took weapons and they organised a mutiny with a group of prisoners to escape," said Justice Minister Jean Renel Sanon, who also attended the news conference.
Authorities increased security along the border and appealed for help from officials in the neighbouring Dominican Republic and in nearby Jamaica.
They feared some of the men who escaped had already fled the country following the breakout.
Witnesses said about 15 gunmen in two SUVs showed up at the prison in Croix-des-Bouquets before noon on August 10th and opened fire on guards, wounding two.
Haitian officials said the attack appeared to be timed to coincide with recreation time and prisoners began to riot as the shooting started.
So far, authorities have managed to recapture only 10 of the prisoners.
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