On Tuesday, police and residents successfully fought off an overnight attempt to attack the wealthy hillside neighborhood of Petion-Ville, a suburb of the capital Port-au-Prince. In the morning, the bodies of over two dozen suspected gang members were lying dead in the streets.
Residents mobilized self-defense groups, some armed with machetes and hammers, barricading the streets and requesting non-neighbors to leave, in an effort to protect the district from armed gangs attempting to break in and take over the residential area.