Journalists Killed in 2000 - Motive Confirmed: Jean Léopold Dominique

Radio Haïti Inter
April 3, 2000, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Dominique, the outspoken owner and director of the independent station Radio Haïti Inter, was shot dead by an unknown gunman who also killed the station's security guard, Jean Claude Louissaint.

Shortly after 6 a.m., Dominique arrived at Radio Haïti Inter to host the 7 a.m. news program, according to CPJ sources in Haiti. After Louissaint opened the gate to the station's premises, located on the road from Port-au-Prince to the suburb of Pétion-Ville, Dominique parked his car inside. As he was about to enter the radio station, a single gunman entered the compound on foot and shot him seven times.

The gunman then fired two shots at Louissaint before escaping in a Jeep Cherokee whose driver had been waiting for him outside the compound. Minutes after the attack, Dominique's wife, Michele Montas, arrived at the station in a separate car and found the wounded bodies of her husband and Louissaint. They died soon afterwards at the Haitian Community Hospital in Pétionville.

Witnesses saw the killer near the station before Dominique's arrival, although his weapon was apparently not visible at that time.

Dominique, 69, was Haiti's most prominent political journalist and a veteran advocate of free speech. He was also considered one of President René Préval's close political allies. At year's end, police were holding four suspects in the case, according to Montas.