A Connecticut neighborhood was rocked by a horrifying scene after a man allegedly beat his father to death with a baseball bat on the front lawn of their home before being fatally shot by police.
Robert Jenkins III, 38, was seen repeatedly striking his 69-year-old father, Robert Jenkins Jr., outside their Meriden home on Sunday morning, according to authorities and police body-camera footage.
Officer Anthony Offiaeli was the first Meriden police officer to arrive at the scene and immediately ordered Jenkins to drop the bat.
“Put the f—ing bat down,” Offiaeli could be heard shouting in the footage.
Jenkins did not comply and continued attacking his father, investigators said.
“When he arrived, Jenkins III was bludgeoning a male, who was lying motionless on the front lawn, in the head with a baseball bat,” Connecticut Inspector General Eliot Prescott said in a preliminary report.
Prescott said Offiaeli ordered Jenkins to drop the bat four times, but he continued striking the victim.
The officer then opened fire, shooting at least 18 rounds, according to the report.
Several bullets struck Jenkins, causing him to drop the bat and fall to the ground.
Jenkins was taken for medical treatment but died at approximately 11:30 p.m. that night from multiple gunshot wounds to his torso. His death was ruled a homicide.
His father was pronounced dead from blunt-force injuries to the head. His death was also ruled a homicide.
It was not immediately clear what sparked the brutal attack.
WATCH THE BODYCAM VIDEO BELOW:
Authorities have also not said whether Offiaeli was placed on administrative leave. Connecticut officers involved in fatal shootings are typically removed from active duty while the incident is investigated.
The shocking violence stunned residents in the quiet community, located between New Haven and Hartford.
Neighbor Raymond Prue said the father and son had always appeared respectful and sociable when he saw them in public.
“I don’t know every minute of every day, but when they were in public they were respectful; they were very social,” Prue told WTNH.
Another neighbor, Kirsten Anderson, claimed Jenkins had shown signs of violent behavior in the past.
“He needed help,” she told WFSB.
“He had to have cracked to continue beating when the police were telling him to stop. That’s why police had to shoot.”
The deadly police shooting remains under investigation by the Connecticut Inspector General’s Office.
Was it a Louisville Slugger???