- Up to 17 missionaries and their families, including women and kids, were kidnapped, officials said.
- The missionaries were leaving an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, when a gang abducted them.
- The FBI is now involved in the investigation to locate and free the missionaries, Reuters reported.
The FBI has joined the investigation into the abduction of as many as 17 missionaries associated with a Christian aid group from the US who were kidnapped Saturday by a gang in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Reuters reported.
Haitian security officials told The New York Times that the missionaries and their families, including women and children, were taken after leaving an orphanage by bus in the capital. They were on their way to the airport to drop off some members before heading to another location in Haiti.
US officials are working with authorities in Haiti to try and secure the release of the missionaries, the Associated Press reported on Monday.
Officials did not provide many details about the kidnapping, but it comes as Haiti deals with a surge in gang violence that has been exacerbated by other recent events and led Haitians to launch a nationwide strike on Monday in protest of increased kidnappings, according to Reuters.
In August, the Caribbean country was hit by a devastating earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people. Meanwhile, Haiti was still recovering from the destruction caused by the 2010 earthquake that killed at least 220,000 people.
The latest earthquake struck Haiti less than two months after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in July.
The United Nations expressed concern the assassination could fuel the already-rising gang violence in the country, Insider's Sarah Al-Arshani reported.
As of Saturday, about half of Port-au-Prince was controlled by gangs, The Times reported. Gang violence has forced around 19,000 Haitians from their homes, according to a UN report.
