Trenton (United States) (AFP) – An “extremely dangerous” suspect armed with an assault rifle was holed up in a New Jersey home on Saturday, authorities said, as police negotiators tried to coax him out after he allegedly killed three family members in two earlier shootings.
Police had tracked 26-year-old Andre Gordon to the three-story house after a trail of violence that set off shelter-in-place orders in two states.
“Andre, get away from the windows. We know you’re inside, if you’d like to surrender, dial 911 now,” police said over a loudspeaker. “You’re a young man, you have too much to live for.”
Authorities said Gordon, who is believed to be homeless, began the day by carjacking a vehicle in Trenton before driving some 40 miles (65 kilometers) to the northern Philadelphia suburb of Levittown. There, police said, the suspect killed two people — identified as his 52-year-old stepmother and his 13-year-old sister. Three others in the house, including a minor, managed to hide “as he went through the house searching for them,” Bucks County, Pennsylvania district attorney Jennifer Schorn said in a briefing.
The suspect then drove to a nearby residence where he broke in before shooting and killing a 25-year-old woman — who Schorn said was the mother of his two children — before bludgeoning her mother with the butt of his rifle. She was expected to recover.
Driving to a nearby discount store, the suspect carjacked a Honda vehicle from a 44-year-old man before fleeing. The man was not injured, according to Falls Township, Pennsylvania Sheriff Nelson Whitney. The suspect then drove across the state line back to Trenton, where he barricaded himself in the three-story house. Whitney said the suspect was believed to be armed with a powerful AR-15 style assault rifle.
SWAT negotiators “will attempt to negotiate a peaceful surrender,” Detective Lieutenant Lisette Rios of the Trenton police department said. People in the house were “successfully evacuated with no injuries,” Rios added. Armed SWAT officers were seen using a ladder to climb onto the roof of the porch to help people inside escape through a window.
Because the suspect crossed state lines, federal authorities — including the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — are aiding in the matter, along with local, county and state police.
Residents in the area, a densely occupied neighborhood, remained under a shelter-in-place order although crowds of curious locals had gathered to watch the unfolding police operation.
© 2024 AFP
