Haitian police arrest gunmen suspected of killing President Moise: gov't official

A soldier stands guard in front of Haitian President Jovenel Moise's home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 7, 2021. (Photo by Tcharly Coutin/Xinhua)

"The alleged assassins of President Moise were intercepted by the Police in Pelerin shortly before 6 p.m.," Secretary of Communication Frantz Exantus said on Twitter.

MEXICO CITY, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Haiti's National Police on Wednesday apprehended the gunmen suspected of killing Haitian President Jovenel Moise earlier in the day at his residence, said reports from the Caribbean island country, citing a Haitian government official.

"The alleged assassins of President Moise were intercepted by the Police in Pelerin shortly before 6 p.m.," Secretary of Communication Frantz Exantus said on Twitter.

Officials would shortly release more details of the police operation in Pelerin, the upscale district where Moise's residence is located, said Exantus.

Photo taken on July 7, 2021 shows bullets holes in the facade of Haitian President Jovenel Moise's home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Photo by Tcharly Coutin/Xinhua)

Residents in Pelerin reported hearing heavy gunfire in the afternoon.

Moise was shot dead in the early hours of the morning by a commando of armed men during an attack, in which his wife, Martine Moise, was wounded.

The men, armed with rifles, allegedly spoke English and Spanish, according to Haitian authorities.