A man suspected of killing his family in Pennsylvania and fleeing to New Jersey will face criminal charges in both states, authorities announced Sunday.
Andre Gordon Jr., 26, was detained Saturday evening after a manhunt that terrified several Philadelphia suburbs.
In Pennsylvania, Gordon was charged with three counts of first- and second-degree murder, aggravated assault, robbery and other crimes. Those charges are connected to the Saturday killings of Karen Gordon, 52; Kera Gordon, 13, and Taylor Daniel, 25, in Levittown.
Additionally, Gordon was charged in New Jersey with carjacking and several weapons offenses, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said Sunday.
“The string of violent acts that took place yesterday, allegedly at the hands of a single armed individual, alarmed and terrorized communities in Bucks and Mercer counties,” Platkin said in a statement. “We will pursue justice for the victims and hold the defendant accountable for his reprehensible actions.”
Gordon first carjacked a vehicle in Trenton then drove to Levittown, according to authorities. Once there, he entered a home with Karen Gordon, his stepmother, and Kera Gordon, his teen sister, police said.
Though Gordon fatally shot his two relatives, three other people in the house escaped and hid, according to investigators. Gordon then drove to another Levittown home, where he killed Daniel, the wife of his two children, and smacked Daniel’s mother with his rifle, police said, leading to the assault charge.
Gordon then carjacked a second vehicle in Morrisville and drove back to Trenton, where cops believed he barricaded himself on the first floor of a two-story residence.
However, Gordon was not actually inside the building and officers arrested him after he was spotted walking down a street nearby.
Several events in the region were canceled while Gordon was on the loose, including the Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Gordon was held at Mercer County Correction Center on Sunday, with officials saying he would eventually be sent to Pennsylvania.
With News Wire Services
