Police fatally shoot suspect in multiple homicides, 38, who allegedly pulled knife while being served warrant in Flatbush

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Police shot and killed a 38-year-old man—who is the suspect in three murders—on Friday afternoon when he allegedly pulled out a knife while being served a bench warrant in a Brooklyn apartment, NYPD officials said during an evening press conference.

The 38-year-old man, Vilmont Jean Baptiste, of Brooklyn, was being pursued by members of the Fugitive Enforcement Unit on an active bench warrant issued in Kings County in 2022, according to Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

The shooting happened at apartment 1E inside of 485 East 21st St. in Flatbush at about 5:20 p.m. Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said detectives were let inside the apartment, and as they walked to the rear of the dwelling they observed Baptiste, fully clothed, hiding in a bathroom bathtub.

Police said that the officers gave numerous commands for the suspect to get out of the tub or show his hands, and when they realized he was armed with a knife, gave multiple commands for him to drop the weapon.

“The sergeant on the scene tried to deploy the taser, but the taser did not work,” Maddrey said. “At that point, the male jumped out of the tub and advanced on the officers. And at least three officers fired their weapons, an unknown amount of shots at this time, which is part of the investigation.”

According to Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry, the faulty taser was an X7 model.

“The taser was ineffective. The sergeant then tried to take out another cartridge to insert into the taser,” Daughtry said. “When the suspect came out of the bathroom with a knife, he almost attempted to stab our sergeant, and the officers were forced to use deadly physical force to take the suspect down.”

After being shot, Maddrey said Baptiste fell and was quickly handcuffed. Once subdued, life-saving measures were employed and he was transported to an area hospital, but he could not be saved.

Members of the warrant squad were also moved to an area hospital for evaluation. Police said that one officer was hit in the head with a bottle.

In addition to the open bench warrant, Kenny said that Baptiste is the primary suspect in a double homicide stabbing that occurred in July in Borough Park and resulted in the deaths of a 54-year-old woman and 24-year-old man. He is also a person of interest in the fatal stabbing of a 66-year-old woman in the 63rd Precinct in August.

“He has a relationship with the victim. His MO seems to be [that] he begins to date older women, and then they allow him to reside in his house to use narcotics,” Kenny said. “The relationship was romantic in nature.”

Baptiste has one prior arrest in 2015 for reckless endangerment.

Citizen App footage from the scene shows that there was a heavy police, first responder and community presence. In one video, Baptiste can be seen being wheeled out of the building on a stretcher.

An investigation into the shooting is ongoing.