PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — The Haitian National Police (PNH) on Thursday confirmed that they had shot and killed the former rebel leader, Wilfort Ferdinand, saying he had opened fire at a police checkpoint in the coastal town of Gonaïves earlier this week.

The acting PHN director general, in confirming the death of Ferdinand, alias “Ti Will” said he died during an exchange of fire with police officers executing a warrant in Canal Bois, Gonaïves.

Ferdinand was a suspected gang leader who was believed to have played a key role in the 2004 uprising that ousted former president Jean Bertrand Aristide.

Police said that Ferdinand had approached the checkpoint in a car with tinted windows only to back up and then open fire on officers, who returned fire and killed him and an unidentified person travelling with him.

The police said it was a routine check point aimed at cracking down on the Kokorat San Ras gang, which operates in the Artibonite region and is known for its extreme violence.

Local media reported that shortly after the killing, heavy gunfire was heard in the area and pictures of the killing were shared on social media.

Ferdinand led the Artibonite Resistance Front and was an ally of Guy Philippe, another former rebel leader, and a Haitian former police officer, politician and convicted money launderer, who led the coup d’etat against Aristide after being fired from the police in 2000.