Haitian police officer kills one and injures four after pay dispute at Gonaïves nightclub 

Mikenson Hilaire Saint-Té shot and killed a man and injured four others in an altercation between clubgoers that turned violent on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 21, according to witness testimony.

The incident occurred inside Resto Céleste, a popular nightclub in the city, when Sainté opened fire following a dispute over drinks he had consumed at the club restaurant and refused to pay for, claiming he should not be charged because he was a police officer. Bradley Norgaisse, a customer in his 40s who was trying to calm Sainté, was fatally shot. He was rushed to La Providence Hospital, the city’s largest publicly run medical facility, where he was later pronounced dead.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene as a Haitian National Police (PNH) officer fired multiple shots, killing Norgaisse and wounding four other people, including three men and a woman aged 30 to 45 years. Two of the injured are in critical condition and are undergoing surgery at La Providence Hospital. The other two victims are receiving treatment at a private medical center.

Police authorities in the Artibonite Department have confirmed the incident and the officer’s identity to The Haitian Times. According to an official who was granted anonymity because he was not authorized by the institution to speak, Sainté is an agent from the Departmental Unit of the Maintenance of Order (UDMO). Facing investigation, Sainté has not reported to work as of Monday and is seemingly on the run.

Meanwhile, many residents of Gonaïves have expressed anger and grief over what they see as yet another act of police brutality against peaceful civilians. At the same time, gangs continue to sow their terror in the region without consequences.

Additionally, the weekend shooting has reignited tensions in Gonaïves, with residents calling for accountability and an end to violence by law enforcement against them. They called for police action against gang violence instead. For now, families and friends mourn the loss of Norgaisse and pray for the recovery of the injured.

In recent months, the Artibonite Department has been similar to Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, with gangs terrorizing people in several areas without much response from law enforcement. The latest gang attack occurred on Dec. 10 in the Petite Rivière de l’Artibonite commune, killing more than 20 people, including women and children, and leaving multiple individuals critically injured.

The attack targeting Rue Capois near Lycée Henry Christophe, a public high school, also left numerous homes destroyed by fire and hundreds of residents displaced by gangs. The bandits also looted residents’ properties, burned farms and houses, and stole farmers’ livestock.

About a week later, the government commissioner in nearby Saint-Marc, Venson François, confirmed to The Haitian Times that the PNH, assisted by Kenyan officers from the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, had regained control of Petite-Rivière. François also stated that more than 10 heads of cattle had been recovered from the gangs through residents’ close collaboration with the police in the commune.

“We found more than 10 cattle in the possession of bandits from Gran Grif gan in Savien,” François said, informing that the National Road #1 in the lower Artibonite region “is now nearly liberated by police operations.” With the increased deployment of PNH officers and members of the MSS, security measures have been enhanced to ensure the safety of travelers along the major route connecting Port-au-Prince to major cities in northern Haiti.

“All necessary steps have been taken to guarantee safety at the crossroads leading to National Road #1. Since the Pont-Sondé massacre at the beginning of October, the Haitian National Police have been working harder to establish a secure environment in the department,” the Saint-Marc prosecutor added.

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