The suspected shooter, Andre Gordon, killed his stepmother, 13-year-old sister and the mother of his two children, authorities said.
Police said he then carjacked another driver at gunpoint and fled to New Jersey, where he lives. Gusciora said SWAT team members and other officers surrounded the home and evacuated neighbors because people inside told authorities they believed Gordon was inside on the first floor.
Police were in stand-off mode, surrounding the residence and blocking off streets, but the suspect wasn’t home.
“It’s apparent that he left before the police arrived,” the mayor said. “The people that were still in the house on the second floor believed, and they relayed to them through 911 calls, that he was still downstairs.”
Gordon was spotted on New York Avenue at the back entrance of a hospital less than a quarter-mile away at 5:15 p.m. and taken into custody without incident, Trenton Police Department officials said.
Gordon was charged by New Jersey authorities with carjacking, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in the second degree, unlawful possession of an assault firearm in the second degree, unlawful possession of a firearm without a serial number in the third degree, receiving stolen property in the third degree, unlawful possession of large-capacity ammunition in the fourth degree and possession of hollow-point ammunition in the fourth degree, according to the office of NJ Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin.
Charges in Pennsylvania are still pending.
Lisette Rios, a spokesperson for Trenton police, said earlier Saturday that authorities believed no one who could be used as a hostage was inside Gordon’s home, and he was believed to be there alone.
Despite the arrest elsewhere, the mayor said he didn’t regret evacuating some of Gordon’s neighbors while telling others to shelter in place.
“We value life and we wanted to make sure that we err on the side of caution to tell people to stay in your home,” Gusciora said. “The suspect was still out and about.”
The incident began around 8:52 a.m. when officers were dispatched to a residence on Viewpoint Lane in Levittown following a report of a shooting, Falls Township, Pennsylvania, police said in a news release.
Jennifer Schorn, the district attorney in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, said Gordon, driving a stolen vehicle from Trenton, forced his way into the home and killed his 52-year-old stepmother, Karen Gordon, and 13-year-old sister Kera Gordon.
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