A Massachusetts man fatally shot his fiancée's father and wounded her mother and sister, then turned the gun on himself, after he expressed he was “unhappy” that they were living with him, prosecutors said.
Police got a 911 call just after 3 a.m. Wednesday in Fall River 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, the Bristol County district attorney’s office said in a statement.
First responders found four shooting victims.
The suspect was identified as Christopher Jean Baptiste, 25. He was rushed to Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, where he was pronounced dead.
His fiancée’s father, Hubert Labasquin, 69, was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where he died.
His fiancée’s sister, 25, and their mother, 59, were in St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford and are 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,” prosecutors said.
Later that night, while holding a firearm, Baptiste told his fiancée that her family “had to leave the house immediately."
Shortly afterward, 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 shot her mother and sister and then shot himself, prosecutors alleged.
He had a valid license to carry the firearm, according to the district attorney’s office. Prosecutors and state police are investigating.
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.
