Suspect wanted in fatal shootings of 3 people in Pennsylvania surrenders in New Jersey, police say
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- A 26-year-old suspect wanted in the shooting deaths of three of his relatives surrendered to authorities in Trenton, New Jersey, officials said Saturday evening. The shootings occurred Saturday morning at two separate homes in nearby Levittown, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia.
Trenton police said Andre Gordon Jr. was taken into custody a couple blocks from the home where the standoff had been taking place. Police said he had left the house before the standoff, and officers spotted him.
"The suspect has been located at another location in Trenton, and he surrendered peacefully," a Trenton police spokesperson told CBS News in an email.
SWAT teams had surrounded a home on Phillips Avenue in Trenton where they believed Gordon may be inside with hostages. Trenton police later said all residents who were inside the home had been safely evacuated.
According to Falls Township Police, the situation unfolded Saturday morning, when a suspect allegedly forced himself into a home on Viewpoint Lane in Levittown. Karen Gordon, 52, and Kera Gordon, 13, were fatally shot. Karen Gordon is Andre Gordon's stepmother, officials said, while Kera Gordon is his sister.
The suspect then allegedly moved on to a second home on Edgewood Lane in Levittown, where officials say he shot and killed the 25-year-old Taylor Daniel, who is the mother of Andre Gordon's children.
Following the shootings and carcjackings in Trenton and Bucks County, Pennsylvania,, law enforcement tracked Gordon to the Phillips Avenue home.
The manhunt put multiple Bucks County communities on high alert, leading to a shelter-in-place, the closures of several local businesses, and the cancellation of the Falls Township St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Man suspected in fatal shooting of stepmother, partner and sister
The violence began before 9 a.m. at a home on Viewpoint Lane in Levittown, authorities said.
In a news briefing, Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said the suspect — armed with an AR-style rifle and possibly other guns — pulled up to the home in a vehicle that he had carjacked from Trenton. He then broke inside the residence and shot and killed Karen and Kera Gordon. Three others in the home were unhurt.
"Three other people were in that home during the shooting," Schorn said. "They were able to hide from Gordon and avoid being shot as he searched for them in the house."
About 10 minutes later, the suspect drove to another home on Edgewood Lane in Levittown, where he again broke in, Schorn said. There, the mother of the suspect's two children were shot and killed, Schorn said.
Those two children, the victim's mother, and another relative were inside the Edgewood Lane home at the time, Schorn disclosed, and the suspect bludgeoned one of them with the rifle.
That person is expected to survive their injuries, Schorn said. No one else in that home was injured.
The suspect then fled the scene after that shooting, Schorn said.
About 10 minutes later, police believe the suspect committed a second carjacking at a Dollar General store on Bristol Pike in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, fleeing in a Honda CRV.
That Honda was later found close to the Trenton home where the suspected hostage situation took place.
Police were seen leading people out of a second-floor window on that block. It was not clear if those people were hostages or neighbors.
Authorities are still investigating how the suspect acquired the rifle. Details on the first carjacking that occurred in Trenton were not immediately provided.
Middletown Township police said Gordon is homeless but has ties to Trenton and Bucks County.
Shootings prompt shelter-in-place order in Falls Township
Following the shootings Saturday morning, Falls Township residents received emergency notifications to shelter-in-place. The push notifications told residents to stay inside their homes, away from windows.
As police began searching for Gordon, the Falls Township St. Patrick's Day Parade was getting underway. Falls Township Police Chief Nelson Whitney said officers went up and down the parade route, warning the crowd to leave the area and head home.
The shelter-in-place lasted about three hours before it was lifted. By then, the investigation had moved across the Delaware River to Trenton.
"I got all my kids together and we got into the center of the house and locked all our windows and doors," resident David Armitage Jr. said.
Businesses in Sesame Place, Langhorne and Middletown Township close
Middletown Township police said they directed the Sesame Place amusement park and the Oxford Valley Mall to close Saturday morning. A Target store and several other businesses in Middletown also elected to close, police said.
Sesame Place opted to remain closed for the rest of the day after the shelter-in-place was lifted, the department said.
"For something like this to happen here and in a couple other sections in this short amount of time. It's crazy," resident Luis Mingo said.
Pennsylvania State Sen. Steve Santarsiero informed constituents on Facebook about the cancellation of the parade.
The Pennsbury School District postponed all activities and students who were participating in activities were taken inside the building.
The Makefield Elementary School play was set to continue as scheduled unless otherwise noted, Superintendent Thomas Smith wrote in a note on the district website.
Gov. Josh Shapiro said he ordered Pennsylvania State Police to support local law enforcement in their investigation and reiterated calls to shelter in place.
Langhorne police said they did not believe the shooter had entered the borough. "DO NOT travel to Falls Township until further notice," the department said.
