Haitian President Jovenel Moise has been gunned down by unknown assassins at his private residence on Tuesday night,

He succumbed to multiple bullet wounds on Wednesday at the hospital.

News of his death was announced by  Haiti’s interim prime minister, Claude Joseph who described the killing as a “hateful, inhumane and barbaric act”.

“The President was injured and succumbed to those injuries,” Joseph said in an interview with Radio Caraibes.

His wife Martine Moïse who was with him at the time of the shooting has also sustained serious injuries and is undergoing treatment.

He says the Presidents residence was under massive security but the thugs managed to infiltrate and finish their mission.

At the same time as the shooting, gunshots could be heard throughout the capital amid a rising wave of politically linked violence in the country.

Moise, 53, was viewed by some as a dictator for a ruling by decree in the more than 2 years he served with the opposition demanding he steps down in recent months.

He took office after the country failed to hold elections.

Meanwhile, Joseph has assured the citizens that the situation has been managed and there is no need to panic.

“The country’s security situation is under the control of the National Police of Haiti and the Armed Forces of Haiti,” Joseph said in a statement from his office. “Democracy and the republic will win.”

Haiti,is the poorest country in the Americas and has suffered a political situation, having grown increasingly unstable and disgruntled under Moïse’s rule.

With Haiti politically divided, and facing a growing humanitarian crisis and shortages of food, there are fears of widespread disorder.

The U.S. Embassy said in a statement it would be closed on Wednesday due to the “ongoing security situation”.

The United States had on June 30 condemned what it described as a systematic violation of human rights, fundamental freedoms and attacks on the press in Haiti, urging the government to counter a proliferation of gangs and violence. 

Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader held an emergency meeting early on Wednesday about the situation but had yet to issue a statement.