According to officials, a Haitian gang with past abductions has been blamed for kidnapping a group at a Haitian airport that included 17 missionaries, five of them children. A source at the U.S. embassy said nineteen people were abducted by a gang at a checkpoint in Haiti during an airport run on Saturday. Sources at the Haitian presidential office said the kidnapping occurred at the intersection of “Carrefour Boen” and “La Tremblay 17”.

It is unclear where the victims were taken. The Embassy is working with a special group of Americans in the country who are investigating. 16 Americans and one Canadian, as well as two Haitian citizens, are included in the group. Two French priests were also kidnapped in a separate attack at the same location earlier in the day, the source said. The Haitian government suspects the gang known as 400 Mawozo to be responsible for the abductions.

The Ohio-based ministry Christian Aid Ministries confirmed that a group of 17 people were “abducted” while on a trip to an orphanage on Saturday, saying in a statement: “We request urgent prayer for the group of Christian Aid Ministries workers who were abducted while on a trip to visit an orphanage on Saturday, October 16. We are seeking God’s direction for a resolution, and authorities are seeking ways to help.”  The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it is “in regular contact with senior Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them and interagency partners. The welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad is one of the highest priorities of the Department of State.”

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