TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) — Police say an armed man is barricaded with hostages in a Trenton, New Jersey home after he shot and killed at least three of his relatives at two separate homes in nearby Levittown, Pennsylvania on Saturday morning.
SWAT teams were surrounding a home on Trenton’s Phillips Avenue where 26-year-old Andre Gordon was believed to be inside. It was not clear how many hostages were in the home.
Law enforcement tracked Gordon to this address in Trenton after multiple shootings and carjackings in Trenton and Bucks County this morning.
The incidents 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.
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Andre Gordon accused of killing stepmother, partner and another relative in Levittown, Pa.
The violence began before 9 a.m. at a home on Viewpoint Lane in Levittown. Falls Township Police and Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said Gordon — armed with an AR-style-rifle and possibly other guns — pulled up to the home in a vehicle that he carjacked from Trenton. He then broke inside the residence and shot and killed his 52-year-old stepmother and a 13-year-old female relative, Schorn said.
Three other people were in that home during the shooting. They were able to hide from Gordon and avoid being shot as he searched for them in the house, Schorn said.
About 10 minutes later, Gordon drove to another home on Edgewood Lane in Levittown where he again broke in, Schorn said. There, he shot and killed a 25-year-old woman with whom he has two children, she added.
Those two children, the victim’s mother, and another relative were inside the Edgewood Lane home. Gordon also bludgeoned one of them with the rifle, Schorn said. That person is expected to survive their injuries. No one else in that home was physically hurt.
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Gordon fled the scene after that shooting, Schorn said.
About 10 minutes later, police believe Gordon committed a second carjacking at a Dollar General on Bristol Pike in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, getting away with a Honda CRV.
That Honda was later found close to the Trenton home where the hostage situation was underway.
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.
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Falls Township Police Chief Nelson Whitney said Gordon was armed with an “AR-15-style” rifle in the shootings and may have other weapons.
Authorities are still investigating how Gordon acquired the rifle. More information on the first carjacking that occurred in Trenton has not yet been released.
Middletown Township police said Gordon is homeless but has ties to Trenton and Bucks County.
Shootings, investigation led to shelter-in-place in Falls Township, Pa.
After the shootings on 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. Whitney said Falls Township police officers went up and down the parade route and began warning the crowd to leave the area and head home.
The shelter-in-place lasted about three hours before it was lifted – by that time the investigation had moved across the Delaware River to Trenton.
The Honda taken from the Morrisville Dollar General was later spotted in Trenton, near the home where the standoff was taking place.
Sesame Place, Langhorne and Middletown Township businesses close after shelter-in-place issued
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, the department said.
Sesame Place opted to remain closed for the rest of the day after the shelter-in-place was lifted, the department said.
State Sen. Steve Santarsiero informed constituents on Facebook about the cancellation of the parade.
The Pennsbury School District said all activities in the district are postponed. 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.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
