Police officers shot and killed a man who was wanted in connection to three murders after he attempted to attack them with a knife inside a Brooklyn apartment on Friday.
The NYPD’s Warrant Squad was seeking to apprehend 38-year-old Vilmond Jean-Baptiste on an open bench warrant when the incident occurred in a building on East 21st Street near Dorchester Road in Flatbush around 5:20 p.m., according to police.
Upon entering a first-floor apartment, detectives discovered Jean-Baptiste “hiding in the bathtub” with a knife, as reported by NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey during a press conference.
Despite orders to drop the knife and exit the tub, Jean-Baptiste refused to comply. Following an attempt to use a taser to subdue him, he lunged at the officers, prompting three cops to fire their weapons at him, according to Maddrey.
Jean-Baptiste was taken to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
During the confrontation, one officer was struck in the head with a bottle as Jean-Baptiste was being removed from the building and was subsequently hospitalized, according to Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
Kenny revealed that Jean-Baptiste was a “strong person of interest” in three murder cases.
The suspect was linked to the stabbing deaths of a 24-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman whose bodies were found in a Brooklyn apartment in July, according to sources.
The elderly woman had multiple stab wounds, while the decomposed body of a man was discovered nearby in their Ditmas Avenue residence. A knife was also recovered at the scene.
Additionally, Jean-Baptiste is believed to be involved in the killing of a 66-year-old woman inside her Flatlands, Brooklyn apartment.
The victim, Claudette Jones, was fatally stabbed multiple times and her body was discovered on August 20.
Police stated that Jean-Baptiste was romantically involved with both female victims.
“His modus operandi appears to involve initiating relationships with older women who then allow him to reside in their homes and engage in drug use,” Kenny mentioned.
According to authorities, Jean-Baptiste had a prior arrest in 2015 for reckless endangerment and had a bench warrant issued for his arrest in Kings County in 2022.
