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Suspect in Pennsylvania suburb shootings is arrested in Trenton, police say

Local law enforcement were able to evacuate all the hostages who were held by a 26-year-old suspect in Trenton, N.J., on Saturday afternoon. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption

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Matt Rourke/AP

Local law enforcement were able to evacuate all the hostages who were held by a 26-year-old suspect in Trenton, N.J., on Saturday afternoon.

Matt Rourke/AP

Police have arrested a man suspected of killing three people in Falls Township, Pa., on Saturday.

The Trenton Police Department said he surrendered peacefully in north Trenton, N.J., in a different location than the house that police had surrounded.

Multiple law enforcement agencies had gathered outside the house in north Trenton. Authorities had said earlier that the man had barricaded himself inside.

Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora said authorities now believe that the suspect left the home shortly after entering it and before police surrounded it, WHYY reported. The mayor said police arrested the suspect on the street a few blocks away.

The Trenton Police Department said earlier that all the residents inside the home were successfully evacuated with no injuries.

At least three people, including a 13-year-old girl, were killed in shootings in two sections of Falls Township on Saturday morning, law enforcement officials said. One woman, who was beaten by the shooter, was sent to the hospital.

At a press conference on Saturday, Jennifer Schorn, the district attorney for Bucks County, Pa., described the suspect as a 26-year-old male named Andre Gordon, who was homeless.

Falls Township Police Chief Nelson Whitney said Gordon used an AR-15 style rifle, but it is unclear how he obtained the weapon.

All the victims had familial ties to the suspect, officials say

Gordon broke into a house in Falls Township on Saturday morning and fatally shot his 52-year-old stepmother and 13-year-old sister, officials said. Three others, who were inside house, were able to hide as Gordon searched for them.

The suspect then drove to another house in Falls Township, where he broke in and fatally shot a 25-year-old woman — with whom he has two children. Gordon also attacked another woman inside the house with his assault rifle, Schorn added. She is currently being treated at a local hospital.

Gordon later fled to a nearby Dollar General store, where he stole a man’s car and traveled to Trenton, where he also has family ties, authorities said.

A resident is evacuated from a home in Trenton, N.J. on Saturday. Matt Rourke/AP hide caption

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Matt Rourke/AP

A resident is evacuated from a home in Trenton, N.J. on Saturday.

Matt Rourke/AP

On Saturday morning, Falls Township Police issued a shelter-in-place order and advised residents to “lock all doors and move to a central and secure location away from windows.” Authorities also asked travelers to avoid visiting the township for the time being. The shelter-in-place was lifted by afternoon.

Falls Township is located near the Pennsylvania-New Jersey border near Trenton. It is also near Sesame Place, a Sesame Street-themed amusement park in Langhorne, Pa. Sesame Place announced it was closed for the day.

Source: https://npr.org/2024/03/16/1238987787/falls-township-pa-shooting