New Jersey authorities lodge first charges against suspect in Bucks County triple fatal shootings
Andre Gordon has been charged with carjacking and weapons offenses in New Jersey as he awaits extradition to Pennsylvania.
New Jersey has filed the first charges against Andre Gordon in connection with his alleged fatal shooting of three people — including his 13-year-old sister and his stepmother — Saturday in Falls Township, Bucks County, before fleeing to Trenton, where he was taken into custody.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platin and other law enforcement authorities announced Sunday that Gordon, 26, faces charges of carjacking, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of an assault firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm without a serial number, receiving stolen property, unlawful possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines, and possession of hollow-point ammunition.
Gordon is being held at the Mercer County Correctional Center. Officials said Saturday that he will remain in New Jersey until he has a hearing to be returned to Bucks County, where court records indicate he will be charged with first- and second-degree murder, burglary, unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment, and related crimes. It was not known whether Gordon has retained legal representation.
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“We will work closely with our partners in Bucks County to ensure that the defendant answers for his alleged crimes in both Trenton and Falls Township,” J. Stephen Ferketic, director of the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, said in a statement.
Gordon surrendered to police around 5:15 p.m. Saturday in Trenton after shootings at two residences in Falls Township left his 52-year-old stepmother, Karen Gordon, 13-year-old sister, Kera Gordon, and 25-year-old mother of his two children, Taylor Daniel, dead.
Bucks County District Attorney Jen Schorn said Saturday that Gordon was known to police and believed to be experiencing homelessness in Trenton.
New Jersey law enforcement officials said Sunday that Gordon carjacked a vehicle in the parking lot of Donnelly Homes in Trenton around 8:40 a.m. Saturday, drove to Falls Township to commit the shootings, carjacked a second vehicle in Morrisville, and returned to Trenton. He was then reported to be in a house on Phillips Avenue in Trenton. But, after surrounding the house, police found Gordon walking on a nearby street.
He was taken into custody without incident. Inside the Phillips Avenue home — which authorities believe is associated with Gordon — police found a semiautomatic assault rifle, an untraceable “ghost gun” with no serial number, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest.
Authorities also found high-capacity magazines, hollow-point cartridges, electronic devices, and the clothes Gordon was wearing during his violent rampage, the affidavit said. Police believe the ghost gun was used in Saturday’s carjackings and murders, authorities said.
On Sunday, Gordon’s sister was mourned by Pennsbury School District.
Kera Gordon was an eighth grader at Charles Boehm Middle School in Lower Makefield Township, and Pennsbury Superintendent Thomas A. Smith issued a statement on the school’s website announcing the availability of counselors for students, families, and staff members.
“When the death of a student occurs, it is particularly difficult and presents us with many questions that we may not be able to answer right away,” Smith said.
Counselors were to be available Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Charles Boehm as well as Monday during school hours.
Smith’s message included links to a few trauma and grief resources, and urged parents to keep an eye out for common characteristics that may show their children might be having a difficult time coping.
The school also issued a Facebook post linking to donations to “lessen the financial burden for this grieving family.” Venmo donations can be made to @Donna-Gross-1, the account of the school PTO copresident and fundraising coordinator.
Checks may be made payable to Charles Boehm PTO and must be mailed to Charles Boehm Middle School, 866 Big Oak Rd., Yardley, Pa. 19067. For cash donations contact cboehmpto@gmail.com.
Staff writers Vinny Vella and Rodrigo Torrejón contributed to this article.