New Jersey: Pennsylvania shooting suspect barricaded with hostages after killing 3, town official says
Jeff Winter, CNN | 3/16/2024, 12:03 p.m.
A man has barricaded himself with several hostages in Trenton, New Jersey, after killing three people in Falls Township, Pennsylvania, Saturday morning, according to local officials.
“We are investigating a spree killing that took place in the township this morning,” Jeff Dence, chairman of the town’s board of supervisors, told CNN. “It is domestic related. Three people were killed at two different residences.”
Police have identified the suspect as 26-year-old Andre Gordon.
Falls Township Police say officers were called just before 9 a.m. to investigate a reported shooting on Viewpoint Lane in Levittown.
Authorities say Gordon, who was driving a stolen vehicle, fatally shot two people who lived at the residence.
Following the shooting, Gordon went to Edgewood Lane, where he fatally shot another individual.
After the shootings, police say Gordon then carjacked a driver at gunpoint in the parking lot of a Dollar General on Bristol Pike in Morrisville. The driver was not injured, according to police.
Falls Township Police said that they believe Gordon knew all of the victims except for the driver. He is “believed to be currently homeless and has ties to the Trenton, New Jersey, area,” they added in a statement.
Dence described the suspect as armed and dangerous. “We are investigating with the assistance of the district attorney’s office and the FBI.”
Police say Gordon is approximately 6’1”, with a thin build, and was last observed wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt.
“He is believed to be in possession of an assault rifle which he used to commit these crimes. It is believed that Gordon may be in possession of additional weapons,” the police statement adds.
CNN has contacted the FBI for information but has yet to hear back.
Now that the suspect is in Trenton, Falls Township will lift its shelter-in-place order, Dence said.
The Middletown Township Police Department said in a Facebook post that they are aware of the shooting and asking residents to take precautions. Middletown Township is located approximately 8 miles away from Falls Township.
“It does not seem that the shooter has entered our township limits,” the police department said in their post.
“Do NOT travel to Falls Township until further notice. If you live in areas that border Falls, you should shelter in place until further notice. We have directed the mall and Sesame Place to CLOSE until further notice,” the Middletown Township Police Department said.
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, who represents Bucks County, said in an X post that there was a carjacking and two shootings in Falls Township.
“I’m in touch with law enforcement officials as they pursue the suspect,” Fitzpatrick said.
Pennsylvania State Police says they are assisting with the investigation.
Gov. Josh Shapiro said in an X post that he had been “briefed on the developing incident” and urged people in the area to “shelter in place and listen to law enforcement’s direction.”
Falls Township is approximately 28 miles northeast of Philadelphia. The town is close to the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border.