Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated by gunmen at his residence on Wednesday. 

According to international media reports, Haiti’s interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph announced on Wednesday that Moïse was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at 1 a.m. 

Calling the attack a “hateful, inhumane and barbaric act,” Joseph declared a two-week state of emergency and warned the assassination “would not go unpunished.” 

Moïse's wife, First Lady Martine Moïse, was also shot and hospitalized, the interim leader said. She is reportedly in critical yet stable condition. 

The assassination of the 53-year-old president is expected to plunge the troubled Caribbean country into a more serious crisis, amid long-standing economic and social unrest stemming in part from a 2010 earthquake. 

The United Nations Security Council plans to convene an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the matter.