A suspect is now in custody following a Saturday morning shooting that left three dead and the Philadelphia suburb of Falls Township temporarily under a shelter-in-place order.
After fleeing the scene, 26-year-old Andre Gordon eventually holed up in a New Jersey home and held hostages for hours. Police were ultimately able to safely evacuate all of the hostages while the suspect remained barricaded in the house.
Through mid-afternoon, local law enforcement was still negotiating with the alleged murder suspect in an attempt to get him to come out of the home and surrender peacefully.
ADVERTISEMENT
Shortly after 5:00 p.m. local time, police confirmed that the suspect had been taken into custody following the hours-long standoff. During the standoff, negotiators spent hours pleading through a loudspeaker for the suspect to surrender peacefully and come out with his hands up.
Sources told CNN, meanwhile, that Gordon may have actually been apprehended a short distance from the house in an attempt to flee the scene. Law enforcement has confirmed that Gordon has been detained and was unharmed.
During a press conference in Falls Township at 2 p.m. local time, authorities said that Gordon killed Taylor Daniel, the mother of two of his children, describing the shooting as a domestic violence incident.
According to police, Gordon also injured the grandmother of his children, hitting her with the butt of his assault-style rifle. She is currently being treated in a local hospital.
Prior to killing Daniel, police said, Gordon had forced his way into the home of his stepmother Karen Gordon and shot her and his 13-year-old sister Kera Gordon dead. Three other people were in the home and were able to hide, police added.
According to local law enforcement, police were dispatched to investigate reports of a shooting. The initial investigation determined that Gordon, driving a stolen vehicle, had allegedly killed two people at a residence in the township around 8:52 a.m. local time.
Gordon, according to police, then shot and killed another individual before fleeing the scene, eventually stealing another car at gunpoint in the parking lot of a Dollar General. Police believe that Gordon knew all of the victims, outside of the person he carjacked.
The vehicle Gordon stole was a 2016 dark gray Honda CRV with a “Namaste” sticker on the rear bumper. Police described Gordon as a Black male, 6’1”, with a thin build and wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt.
FOX 29 reporter Steve Kelley first reported that shortly before noon local time, police in Trenton, New Jersey, had found the carjacked Honda unoccupied. SWAT units had also begun entering the house where the vehicle was located, according to law enforcement.
Additionally, the Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day parade has been canceled due to the shelter-in-place order that was imposed on the township.
With the suspect’s vehicle located in New Jersey, Falls Township lifted the lockdown order early Saturday afternoon. This coincided with Trenton police noting that Gordon had barricaded himself inside a Trenton residence and was holding hostages.
During the afternoon press conference, authorities said that Gordon was currently homeless, but he was familiar with the people who resided in the home he barricaded himself in.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said on X that he had been briefed on the shooting and has directed state police to “coordinate with our law enforcement partners and provide whatever support is needed on the ground.” he also advised local residents to continue to shelter in place.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Falls Township Police and Trenton Police Department for additional comment on the situation.
