Man charged with killing 3 relatives is returned to Pennsylvania custody

FALLSINGTON, Pa. (AP) — A man charged in the fatal shooting of three family members in suburban Philadelphia and related carjacking and weapons counts in New Jersey has been transferred to Pennsylvania, officials said Wednesday.

Andre Gordon Jr., 26, waived an extradition hearing in New Jersey on Wednesday and has been transferred to officials in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, according to prosecutors and the New Jersey court’s spokesperson.

He is set to be arraigned before a Bucks County magistrate judge later on Wednesday.

Authorities have said Gordon carjacked a vehicle in Trenton, New Jersey, on March 16 before driving to Levittown in Falls Township, Pennsylvania.

There he killed his stepmother and sister, the Bucks County district attorney said. He then drove to a second home in Levittown and killed the mother of his two children, authorities said. He is also accused of injuring his children’s grandmother by bludgeoning her with a rifle.

The dead included Gordon’s 52-year-old stepmother, Karen Gordon; his 13-year-old sister, Kera Gordon; and 25-year-old Taylor Daniel, the mother of his two children, the district attorney said. Authorities have said Gordon’s children were present when he shot their mother.

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Gordon then carjacked a second vehicle in Morrisville and returned to Trenton, authorities said. Police surrounded a home for hours in the belief that he was there, but Gordon apparently slipped out before a cordon went up. He was arrested, unarmed, when he was spotted walking down a street a few blocks away.

It’s unclear who Gordon’s attorney is. A message seeking comment on his behalf was left with the Bucks County public defender’s office.

The mayhem forced the cancellation of a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Pennsylvania’s Bucks County and the closure of a Sesame Street-themed amusement park and a number of other businesses. Authorities issued a shelter-in-place order for several hours.

Officials have not released a possible motive for the attacks.