Port-au-Prince, Haiti ? Gunfire erupted Sunday at a rally of protesters calling for the prosecution of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, drawing return fire from U.S. Marines and leaving five people dead in the worst attack since the Haitian president’s ouster.

Demonstrators scattered as shots echoed through the Champs de Mars plaza in front of the National Palace. Police ducked into doorways for cover.

The attack marked the first known instance of U.S. Marines opening fire since they were sent to stabilize Haiti a week ago, but angry survivors accused the Marines and their French colleagues of not doing enough to prevent the attack.

Several witnesses said they saw Aristide militants open fire from across the plaza as thousands of people gathered in front of the National Palace. U.S. Marine Maj. Richard Crusan said it was unclear who the gunmen were.

He told The Associated Press that three Marines returned fire from the palace in the direction of the gunshots. No Marines were wounded.

Ricardo Ortega, a New York correspondent for the Spanish television station Antena 3, was shot in the abdomen and died at a hospital.

Among more than 30 injured people was South Florida Sun-Sentinel photographer Michael Laughlin, 37, who was shot in the shoulder and face but was in stable condition at the hospital.

The protesters had been calling for Aristide to stand trial on charges of corruption and of encouraging violence by his supporters. He fled the country Feb. 29.

Aristide supporters had planned a separate demonstration Sunday but said they were offered no protection by the peacekeepers and were afraid of reprisal attacks from anti-Aristide activists. Their protest was rescheduled for today, although leaders said they were still worried about security.

On Sunday Aristide released a statement through government officials in the Central African Republic, where he is in exile, saying he was “well looked-after” by his hosts and would personally address reporters at an unspecified time. Aristide has said the United States forced him from power, something U.S. officials deny.