A man who was wanted in connection with multiple deadly stabbings was shot and killed by officers in Brooklyn after he flashed a knife while they were executing a search warrant, according to police.
The deadly incident started just before 5:30 p.m. Friday inside a Flatbush apartment on East 21 Street near Flatbush Avenue, police said at a press conference. As detectives searched a home, they found the suspect, 38-year-old Vilmond Jean Baptiste, hiding in the bathtub.
Officers told him multiple times to get out of the tub and show his hands, but they soon realized he was holding a knife, police said. A sergeant at the scene tried to use a stun gun to subdue Baptiste, but it did not work.
Soon after, Baptiste jumped out of the tub and came at the officers, at least three of whom fired shots. It was not immediately clear how many shots were fired.
Baptiste was subdued after being shot and was taken to the hospital, where he died, police said. The officers at the scene were also taken to the hospital to be evaluated.
After Baptiste was brought outside, bottles were thrown at the officers at the scene, according to police. One of those officers was hit in the head and taken to the hospital.
Baptiste had been wanted by police in connection to multiple deadly stabbings in Brooklyn from over the summer: A 54-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man were found stabbed to in July, and a 66-year-old woman was found stabbed to death in August, police said. It wasn’t clear what role Baptiste may have had in the killings, but police called him a strong person of interest in both incidents.
