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Cordoned off by the police: a residential area in Falls Township, Pennsylvania, where the alleged perpetrator is said to be
Photo: Joe Lamberti / AFP
According to police, a man in the USA shot three people and then barricaded himself in a house with several hostages.
The shots were fired on Saturday morning at two different locations in Falls Township, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, police and prosecutors said in a joint press conference.
Accordingly, the victims came from the shooter's family environment.
According to prosecutor Jennifer Schorn, he is said to have initially killed his 52-year-old stepmother and his 13-year-old sister.
Three other people could have hidden from him "as he went through the house looking for them."
He then forced his way into another house, where he killed a 25-year-old woman "with whom he had two children," said Schorn.
He hit and injured the woman's mother with his assault rifle.
Man flees with stolen car
According to the information, the alleged perpetrator then fled in a stolen car and ultimately barricaded himself in Trenton in the neighboring state of New Jersey with several hostages.
According to police, the residents of the house were able to be brought to safety without anyone being injured.
Special units of the US Federal Police were also deployed.
Hours after the morning's attacks, police tried to get the man to surrender.
According to police, the suspected perpetrator is a 26-year-old man who was recently homeless.
He used an AR-15 assault rifle as the murder weapon.
In addition to the fatalities, there were other family members at the crime scenes, including minors.
Authorities in Falls Township urged residents to seek safety Saturday morning.
There was actually supposed to be a parade in the town on the occasion of Irish St. Patrick's Day.
According to local TV station Fox29, this was canceled for security reasons.
The celebrations in honor of Saint Patrick also brought Irish emigrants to the USA.
jpa/dpa/AFP