A large number of prisoners have been released after an armed group attacked the main prison in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince.
A local journalist told BBC News that the majority of the approximately 4,000 men held here are now at large.
Those detained included gang members charged in connection with the 2021 murder of President Juvenel Moïse.
Violence in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has worsened in recent years. Gangs seeking to overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry control 80% of Port-au-Prince.
The gang's leader, Jimmy Sheridier (nicknamed “Barbeque”), declared a coordinated attack to eliminate him.
“We are all united, both the armed groups in the provincial cities and the armed groups in the capital,” said a former police officer believed to be behind several massacres in Port-au-Prince.
Four police officers were killed and five others were injured in the wave of gunfire. The French embassy in Haiti advised against travel in and around the capital.
Haiti's police union called on the military to help strengthen the prison, which was attacked late Saturday.
Reuters reported that the prison doors remained open on Sunday and there were no police officers in sight. Three inmates who tried to escape died in the courtyard, the report said.
One volunteer prison worker told a Reuters reporter that 99 prisoners, including a former Colombian military officer imprisoned for killing President Moïse, had chosen to remain in their cells for fear of being killed in crossfire.
Violence has been widespread since the assassination of President Moïse. He has not been replaced and no elections have been held since 2016.
An election was held based on a political agreement, and Mr. Henry, who was not elected, was scheduled to step down by February 7, but this did not happen.