Man Charged In PA, NJ In Connection With Lower Bucks Killing Spree

Updated: 10:45 a.m. Monday

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —The man who went on a rampage and killed three people in Falls Township and then held others hostage in a Trenton, N.J., home has now been charged by authorities in Bucks County and New Jersey for the crimes.

Andre Gordon Jr., 26, is charged with 32 counts by Bucks County authorities, including three counts of first-degree murder, and three counts of second-degree murder.

Other charges include two counts of burglary, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of robbery, three counts of unlawful restraint of a minor or parent, the discharge of a firearm, theft by unlawful taking, four counts of unlawful restraint/serious bodily injury, simple assault, possession of an instrument of crime, terroristic threats, and eight counts of recklessly endangering another person, authorities said.

He is awaiting a preliminary hearing before District Justice John T. Galloway in Falls Township.

In New Jersey, Gordon faces charges of first-degree carjacking, second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, second-degree unlawful possession of an assault firearm, third-degree unlawful possession of a firearm without a serial number, third-degree receiving stolen property, fourth-degree unlawful possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines, and fourth-degree possession of hollow-point ammunition, authorities said.

Gordon was taken into custody late Saturday afternoon after authorities alleged that he killed two family members and the mother of his two children in a shooting after a standoff in which he barricaded himself in a Trenton, N.J., home for several hours.

Authorities said that Gordon had held hostages, who were believed to be family members, before releasing them without harm. He was later captured without incident at another location away from the barricade.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the New Jersey State Police, the Division of Criminal Justice, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Trenton Police Department announced the charges Sunday in which Gordon is suspected of three murders in Pennsylvania and two carjackings.

Falls Township Police and Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn, in a press conference Saturday afternoon, said that Andre Gordon Jr. forcibly broke into one home and killed his 52-year-old stepmother, Karen Gordon, and 13-year-old sister, Kera Gordon, before going to another home and killing Taylor Daniel, the mother of his two children.

Law enforcement officials in New Jersey and Bucks County were looking for Gordon Saturday morning after the fatal shootings of three people, including his 13-year-old girl, stepmother, and the mother of his two children at two separate locations in Falls Township.

Gordon allegedly carjacked a vehicle in the parking lot of Donnelly Homes in Trenton around 8:40 a.m., drove to Falls Township, committed a series of shootings, carjacked a second vehicle in Morrisville, and returned to Trenton, authorities said.

He entered a residence on Phillips Avenue in Trenton and was later apprehended on New York Avenue at about 5 p.m. Gordon is being held at the Mercer County Correction Center.

“The string of violent acts that took place Saturday, allegedly at the hands of a single armed individual, alarmed and terrorized communities in Bucks and Mercer counties," Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin said.

J. Stephen Ferketic, director of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, said that authorities were able to capture Gordon without gunfire.

Authorities said that about 60 officers from the Mercer County Rapid Response Partnership (MCRRP) responded to assist.

First-degree carjacking carries a sentence of up to 30 years in New Jersey state prison and a fine of up to $200,000. Second-degree crimes carry a sentence of up to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000, third-degree crimes carry a sentence of up to five years in state prison and a fine of up to $15,000, and fourth-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of 18 months and a fine of up to $10,000.

The potential sentences are provided solely for informational purposes, as any potential sentence is determined by a judge.

The charges in the complaint are accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty, authorities said.