A 27-year-old woman was arrested after a 31-year-old woman was killed inside a Teller Avenue building.
NEW YORK CITY, NY — A 27-year-old woman was charged with murder after police said a barbecue argument turned deadly Sunday night inside a Claremont apartment building, where a 31-year-old woman was stabbed in the chest and cut on the neck.
Lexus Bullock was arrested after officers responded to 1441 Teller Ave. at about 8:22 p.m. for a report of a woman stabbed, police said. The case moved quickly from a gathering among people who knew each other to a homicide investigation, with police saying Bullock faces charges of murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon. The victim was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators said the violence followed an argument at a barbecue inside the building. Bullock allegedly got a knife during the dispute and attacked the victim, police said. The victim’s name had not been released by authorities as of Tuesday, and police had not publicly stated what started the fight. Police also had not released full details on the relationship between Bullock and the victim. News 12 reported that the women were friends, but officials had not provided a fuller account of how the gathering turned into a fatal confrontation.
Officers found the wounded woman after a call brought them to the residential building on Teller Avenue, a block in the Claremont section of the Bronx. Police said she had a stab wound to the chest and a cut to the neck. Emergency medical workers took her to Lincoln Hospital, a major trauma center in the South Bronx. She died there a short time later, police said. Bullock was taken into custody at the scene, according to reports from the neighborhood. No other injuries were publicly reported, and police did not say whether the knife had been recovered.
The stabbing came during a violent holiday period across New York City, even as police leaders pointed to lower citywide shootings and murders in the first half of the year. Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said last week that the city’s public safety gains were tied to “precision policing and the extraordinary work” of officers. The Bronx has led the city in overall major crime decline this year, according to NYPD figures, but the 44th Precinct, which covers parts of the west Bronx, recorded three murders year to date through July 5, compared with six during the same period last year.
The case is now expected to move through Bronx Criminal Court, where prosecutors will present the charges and any bail request. Police said the investigation remains open, which means detectives may still be reviewing witness statements, video from inside or near the building and other evidence from the scene. The Bronx district attorney’s office had not released a detailed charging document by Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether Bullock had entered a plea or retained an attorney.
Outside the building, the killing left neighbors with another scene of police activity in a borough already dealing with several high-profile violent incidents. The basic outline of the case remains narrow: a Sunday night barbecue, an argument, a knife and one woman dead. Police have not said whether alcohol, a prior dispute or another person played a role. They also have not released the victim’s hometown, occupation or family details. Those unknowns remain central as detectives work to explain how a private gathering became a homicide.
As of Tuesday, Bullock remained charged in the fatal stabbing, and the victim’s identity was still pending public release. The next major step is expected in court, where prosecutors may lay out more details about the alleged attack.
Author note: Last updated July 7, 2026.