President Donald Trump has posted graphic surveillance footage of a fatal hammer attack in Florida, drawing renewed political attention to immigration policies after authorities charged a Haitian national with murder.
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The incident occurred on 2 April outside a gas station in Fort Myers, where police say a man repeatedly struck a woman with a hammer. The suspect, identified as 40-year-old Rolbert Joachin, is now in custody and faces several criminal charges.
Authorities said the woman, who was working as a store clerk, died at the scene. Her identity has not been publicly released due to Florida’s Marsy’s Law, which protects victims’ privacy.
Arrest after manhunt
According to court records, police were alerted at around 7:19 a.m. after reports that a woman had been attacked with a hammer outside the convenience store.
Officers responding to the scene found the victim lying on the ground and not breathing. Witnesses told investigators they had seen a man striking a parked vehicle before turning on the woman and hitting her with what appeared to be a mallet.
Fort Myers Police Chief Jason Fields said Joachin was arrested later the same day following what he described as an extensive coordinated manhunt.
Police said the attack appeared to be targeted. Although the victim did not personally know the suspect, authorities said the two had previously encountered one another.
Joachin has been charged with murder, criminal mischief and property damage exceeding $1,000. He is being held without bond after a hearing in Lee County court and is scheduled to be arraigned on 4 May.
Graphic footage circulated online
Footage from surveillance cameras, later circulated online by the Department of Homeland Security, shows a man striking the hood and sides of a car in the gas station parking lot while holding an object believed to be a hammer.
A woman is then seen leaving the store and approaching the man. Moments later, he turns toward her and strikes her in the head, causing her to fall to the ground. The footage shows several additional blows before the attacker walks away.
Officials speaking at a news conference described the video as extremely disturbing. Micah McCombs, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Tampa, said it was “a video you can never unwatch.”
A memorial has since been set up outside the gas station where the attack occurred. Friends and members of the local community described the victim as a devoted mother and person of faith.
Local Bangladeshi community members said the killing had deeply affected them. According to officials, the woman had immigrated to the United States about six years ago and later obtained citizenship.
Immigration status and political response
The case has also drawn attention to the suspect’s immigration history.
The Department of Homeland Security said Joachin entered the United States by boat in August 2022 and was initially detained by US Border Patrol in what authorities described as a maritime smuggling event.
Although a federal judge issued a final removal order that year, he later received Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a humanitarian program allowing certain foreign nationals to remain in the country if conditions in their home nation prevented a safe return.
According to officials, Joachin reapplied for TPS in 2024 after his status expired and remained protected until the current administration revoked it earlier this week.
Trump posted the surveillance footage on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, describing the killing as evidence of failures in immigration enforcement under former President Joe Biden. He repeated criticism of the TPS programme and called for tougher immigration policies.
The Trump administration has sought to end protections for more than 350,000 Haitians living in the United States. Earlier attempts were blocked by a federal judge after challengers argued the government had not properly assessed conditions in Haiti.
The administration has since asked the US Supreme Court to review the case.
Community mourning
Meanwhile, members of the Fort Myers community have gathered at a makeshift memorial near the gas station to honour the victim.
Residents and community leaders said the killing had shocked the area, while authorities pledged that the case would proceed through the courts.
Joachin’s lawyers have not yet publicly commented on the charges.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 11 April 2026
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