A Massachusetts man fatally shot his fiancée’s father and wounded her mother and sister, then turned the gun on himself, after expressing he was “unhappy” that they were living with him, prosecutors said.
Police received a 911 call just after 3 a.m. Wednesday in Fall River, Massachusetts, from a woman saying her fiancé had just shot members of her family, then himself, at their home in the 500 block of Bank Street, a statement from the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said.
First responders found four shooting victims.
The shooting suspect was identified as Christopher Jean Baptiste, 25. He was rushed to Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, where he was later pronounced dead.
His fiancée’s father Hubert Labasquin, 69, was transported to Rhode Island Hospital where he later died.
His fiancée’s sister, 25, and their mother, 59, were also hospitalized at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford and are both expected to survive.
Baptiste’s fiancée’s family had been living with the couple at Baptiste’s residence “for the past several months” while they looked for another place to live, the district attorney’s office said.
On Tuesday evening, Jean Baptiste told his fiancée that he was “unhappy with her family continuing to reside with them,” according to prosecutors.
Later that night, while holding a firearm, Baptiste told his fiancée that her family “had to leave the house immediately.”
Shortly after, Labasquin got into a physical struggle with Baptiste, “at which point Mr. Labasquin was shot,” the district attorney’s office said.
As the fiancée was calling 911, Baptiste allegedly shot her mother and sister then shot himself, prosecutors said.
He had a valid license to carry the firearm, according to the district attorney’s Office. An investigation remains underway by prosecutors and state police.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
