The gunman accused of fatally shooting his family members, including a 13-year-old girl, in Pennsylvania before fleeing to New Jersey and barricading himself inside a home in Trenton was taken into custody without further incident, police said Saturday evening.
The suspected shooter, Andre Gordon, 26, allegedly shot and killed the victims Saturday morning at two locations in Levittown, Pennsylvania. Police said he then carjacked a driver at gunpoint and fled to New Jersey, where he was “tracked to his home” in Trenton.
The man somehow slipped out of the home — which authorities initially said was occupied — as SWAT team members surrounded it, and was found and apprehended nearby, Trenton Police Department officials said.
Lisette Rios, a spokesperson for Trenton police, said earlier Saturday afternoon that authorities believed no more hostages were in the home and that Gordon was inside by himself.
The incident began around 8:52 a.m. when officers were dispatched to a residence on Viewpoint Lane in Levittown following a report of a shooting, Falls Township, Pennsylvania, police said in a news release.
Jennifer Schorn, the district attorney in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, said Gordon, driving a stolen vehicle from Trenton, forced his way into the home and killed his 52-year-old stepmother, Karen Gordon, and 13-year-old sister Kera Gordon.
Three other people inside the home, including a minor, “were able to hide and avoid being shot by Gordon as he went through the house searching for them,” she said at a Saturday afternoon news conference.
Following that incident, Gordon went to a residence on Edgewood Lane in Levittown, where he shot and killed 25-year-old Taylor Daniel, with whom he shares two children, Schorn said.
Four other people were inside the home, including one person who was injured after Gordon “bludgeoned” her with an assault rifle, Schorn said. The woman was taken to the hospital for her injuries and is expected to recover.
At around 9:13 a.m., he allegedly carjacked a 44-year-old man at gunpoint in the parking lot of a Dollar General store in Morrisville. The driver was not injured, authorities said.
The shooter fled the area in a 2016 gray Honda CRV with a Pennsylvania license plate and a “Namaste” sticker in white letters on the right bumper, according to authorities.
The vehicle was located unoccupied in Trenton around 11:38 a.m., the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said.
At about 12:22 p.m., the district attorney’s office said it received information that Gordon had barricaded himself with hostages inside a home in Trenton.
“We are referring all information regarding that aspect of this investigation to the Trenton City Police Department,” the district attorney’s office said.
Police in Pennsylvania had said earlier that Gordon was homeless with connections to Trenton. They said he was in possession of an assault rifle, which he allegedly used in the shootings. Police said he could have additional weapons and cautioned that he was “extremely dangerous.”
The shootings led to a shelter-in-place in Falls Township. Police had told residents to lock their doors and move to a secure location away from windows. The shelter-in-place order was lifted Saturday afternoon.
A Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day parade scheduled for Saturday morning was canceled, and the Pennsbury School District postponed activities.
In nearby Middletown Township, residents were told not to travel to Falls Township. Middletown Township police later said they “received information that we are all clear.”
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said he is in touch with law enforcement.
Gov. Josh Shapiro said he was briefed on the incident and asked the state police to assist local law enforcement.
Falls Township Police Chief Nelson Whitney said that authorities had minor contact with Gordon in the past but said it was “nothing that would indicate anything like this would happen.”
Levittown is in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, about 26 miles from the city.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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