Andre Gordon Jr., a 26-year-old disturbed homeless man, is facing murder charges in Pennsylvania following a deadly crime spree on Saturday, March 17, 2024, that left three family members dead and two vehicles carjacked.
The outbreak of violence commenced just before 8:40 a.m., beginning with a vehicle theft in the parking area of Trenton, New Jersey’s Donnelly Homes public housing complex. Gordon, carrying a firearm, traveled approximately five miles to Falls Township, Pennsylvania. There, he invaded a residence on Viewpoint Lane, where he took the lives of his stepmother, Karen Gordon, aged 52, and his sister, Kera Gordon, who was 13 years old. In that same residence on Viewpoint Lane, three individuals, including his father, Andre Sr, and a minor, managed to elude Gordon by concealing themselves.
Continuing his violent spree, Gordon moved to another residence on Edgewood Lane, where he murdered 25-year-old Taylor Daniel, who was the mother of his two children. In the same incident, he attacked Daniel’s mother using a rifle. Despite a head injury inflicted by Gordon, Taylor Daniel’s mother survived; she was treated for a head laceration at Jefferson Hospital, Torresdale Campus.
After leaving the scene, at approximately 9:15 a.m., he forcefully took a vehicle from a 44-year-old man at gunpoint outside a Dollar General on Bristol Pike in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, making his escape in the man’s dark gray Honda CRV.
Not long after the carjacking, the Honda was located abandoned back in Trenton, prompting SWAT teams to encircle a residence close to where the car was found in pursuit of Gordon.
The belief that Gordon had taken refuge and possibly hostages within a home on the 100 block of Miller Street led to an intense standoff. Authorities later managed to secure the safety of the home’s occupants, reporting no injuries in the process.
The standoff saw an unexpected turn when it was revealed Gordon was not actually within the cordoned house on Phillips Avenue but was instead apprehended several blocks away, having slipped past the police barricade. Gordon’s capture was finalized around 5 p.m.
Gordon is facing charges of first- and second-degree murder, aggravated assault, robbery, and related crimes in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. In New Jersey, his charges include first-degree carjacking and several weapons offenses, among them possession of an assault firearm and hollow-point ammunition.
No motive has been identified, and it remains unclear if Gordon has obtained legal representation.
