Security forces evacuate a house where a murder suspect was barricaded in New Jersey (French)
Three people were killed in two shooting incidents in the suburbs of Philadelphia on Saturday morning, and the suspect fled and barricaded himself in a house in Trenton, New Jersey, according to police and local authorities.
Police said they identified the suspect as Andre Gordon, who is believed to be homeless. He stole a car and then killed his 52-year-old stepfather and his 13-year-old sister, in a house in Falls Township, Levittown, Pennsylvania, northeastern United States.
District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said in a statement to reporters that 3 people were able to hide in the house “where he searched for them.”
The suspect then drove to a nearby neighborhood, where he shot and killed the mother of his two children, then proceeded to hit her mother with the butt of a rifle.
He then went to the garage of a nearby store, where he stole a car from a 44-year-old man and fled.
The man was not harmed, according to the head of the local authority in Falls Township, Nelson Whitney.
The suspect crossed the state border into Trenton, New Jersey, where he barricaded himself in a house that is currently surrounded by police who are trying to communicate with him.
Residents of the home were inside but "were successfully evacuated without any injuries," Trenton Police Detective Lisette Rios said.
Whitney said the suspect was believed to be armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, which police warned was "extremely dangerous."
Because the suspect crossed state lines, federal authorities, including the FBI, are involved in pursuing him.
Residents of the area where the two shooting incidents were recorded were given instructions to remain in place and take shelter, but the directives were lifted after 3 hours.
Source: French