The Haitian National Police (PNH) announced Wednesday that they had arrested a 52-year-old suspect who they allege was involved in the murder of American missionaries.

The PNH named the suspect as Bénicé Célestin in a social media post in French. The also accused him of being involved in the death of a Haitian national.

The police’s post contained a video of the prisoner. The suspect denied involvement in the May 23 murders of  23-year-old American missionary Davy Lloyd and his 21-year-old wife, Natalie Lloyd, and Jude Montis, the Haitian national and the director of the organization Missions for Haiti Inc., according to CBS News. It is not clear whether Célestin was formally charged with any crime or has retained legal counsel, the outlet noted.

Police in Haiti have arrested a suspect in the fatal shooting of a U.S. missionary couple and a Haitian man who headed a nonprofit in an attack by gunmen earlier this year. https://t.co/xZzex9kLjo

— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 22, 2024

Police alleged that Célestin’s phone was used to make calls after the murders, but he denied this allegation, CBS News reported.

David Lloyd, the father of Davy Lloyd, said he was not aware of the circumstances regarding authorities’ apprehension of Célestin, The Associated Press (AP) reported. He told the AP that his son contacted him the night the attack occurred. Lloyd reportedly recalled that his son told him a gang numbering around 100 members looted the mission after compelling them to let them through the gates before the call abruptly ended. The father told the outlet that his son and others were shot at prior to the gang forcibly entering the missionary’s home. (RELATED: US Begins Rescuing American Citizens From Haiti As Nation Falls Under Violent Gang Rule)

“They loved the Haitian people and were dedicated to that country,” Lloyd reportedly said of his son and daughter-in-law. The couple planned to commemorate their two-year wedding anniversary in June, the AP reported.

“We want justice for what took place,” Republican Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker, the father of Natalie, told the outlet. Baker reportedly expressed cautious optimism regarding the arrest and said he hopes those “responsible face the consequences.”