Two gunmen shot and killed Denoze, a sports presenter for the station Radio Plus, in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Carrefour.
The director of Radio Plus, Jean Lucien Prussien, told CPJ that Denoze had taken a communal taxi at around 3:30 or 3:45 p.m. heading toward his home in Carrefour. About a mile from Denoze’s house, the two gunmen jumped on the taxi and told all the passengers to get off.
When Denoze moved to comply, the gunmen told him, “You have to stop, mister, it’s you we need.” They shot him in the neck, stomach, and abdomen and then fled the scene, shooting in the air to keep bystanders at a distance. The police arrived less than an hour later and detained the taxi driver, who had fled the scene but returned to claim his vehicle, for questioning. A street vendor witnessed the crime, according to Prussien.
Denoze had worked with Radio Plus since 1997. He presented a sports program every morning except Sunday, when he commented on live sporting events. His work had no political content whatsoever, according to Prussien.
The director declined to speculate on the motive for the killing. According to other sources, however, Denoze was rumored to have received threats after he allegedly embezzled money from a sports tournament that he had helped organize.