A SUSPECT reportedly killed two people before stabbing his mother and dropping a baby from a window during an hours-long barricade and standoff, police and neighbors say.
The deaths followed a seven-hour standoff between the suspect, Jonathan Lamont-John Welch, and police following initial reports of a domestic violence incident.
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Police arrived at the Michigan home around 8 p.m. following the report of domestic violence.
As they approached the house, police say the suspect shot at them, according to FOX2 News.
The standoff ensued and lasted nearly seven hours.
Neighbors claim Welch dropped his baby from one of the windows of the house during that time.
“He leaned out the window and dropped the baby on the grass,” a neighbor told Click on Detroit.
“The baby was naked while the house was on fire. This all happened while the house was on fire.”
The police saw the child and removed it from the scene.
When officers entered the house nearly seven hours later, after Welch surrendered, they discovered that the house had also been set on fire.
After the fire was extinguished, the bodies of the two victims were recovered by police.
Zlayiah Frazier, 22, and Robert Bray Jr., 70, have been identified as the two victims who died of blunt force trauma, police told Click on Detroit.
Frazier was an ex-girlfriend of Welch, her sister Breonna told FOX2 News.
Bray was Welch’s stepfather, officials told Click on Detroit.
A third victim, Welch’s mother, was injured in the attack and ran to a neighbor’s house after being stabbed by her son.
There is no update on the condition of Welch’s mother or child.
The suspect was out on bail after an attack on Frazier last month, court records show.
The Wayne County State Department released a statement on June 12 saying that Welch had received a handful of charges, including first-degree home burglary, third-degree criminal sexual conduct, and assault with intent to commit penetration.
Welch bonded on July 8 and was released from Wayne County Jail.
Frazier’s family urged FOX2 News that the justice system is “absolutely broken”.
“They should never have let him out of jail,” Breonna said.
The US Sun has contacted the Harper Woods, Michigan Police Department for further comment.