Mom recalls fighting off gunman during Pennsylvania killing spree that left 3 dead
FALLS TWP., Penn. -- Nancy Daniel is speaking out after fighting off the gunman accused of killing three people, including his 13-year-old sister, in Pennsylvania before carjacking a driver and fleeing to New Jersey over the weekend.
"The first thing I remember is Taylor coming to me saying, 'Mom, Andre's here, he's got a gun. Go in your room,'" recalled Nancy of the March 16 killing spree.
She was inside the home on Edgewood Lane around 9:01 a.m. when authorities say the suspect, 26-year-old Andre Gordon Jr., broke in and killed 25-year-old Taylor Daniel, who is the mother of his two daughters.
"She grabbed the girls from the living room and took them into her room and closed the door," said Nancy, who is Taylor's mother. "Not being one to listen, I came out and I saw him standing here and he was ramming the gun into the door and broke all the glass and the door down. Then he went and tore her door down."
After hearing the gunshots, Nancy exited her bedroom and hit Gordon with a wooden axe handle, according to court documents. He fought back and hit her in the head with a rifle before fleeing the home.
"She lived for those girls. They were everything to her. She protected them to the end," she said.
At about 9:13 a.m., authorities say Gordon carjacked a 44-year-old Morrisville man who was filling up his tires at a Dollar General on Bristol Pike.
According to court documents, Gordon showed the driver a long gun in a bag before he ripped away the air compressor from the tire and took off with the vehicle.
Near the Dollar General, officers also found a stolen Nissan Altima, which authorities say was carjacked in Trenton by Gordon before the killings.
At about 8:52 a.m. that morning, authorities say Gordon used the Nissan Altima and drove to Viewpoint Lane in Levittown where he killed his 52-year-old stepmother, Karen Gordon, and his 13-year-old sister, Kera Gordon.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, doorbell camera footage captured Gordon using a rifle to break the glass on the front door and shooting into the home.
Documents state that before the shooting, Gordon and his father, Andre Gordon Sr., were involved in a verbal exchange at the door.
Authorities say Gordon's father, another adult and a juvenile were able to hide and avoid being shot as the suspect ran through the house searching for them.
The crime spree triggered temporary shelter-in-place orders for residents in Falls Township as authorities searched for the suspect, with police eventually converging on a home miles away in Trenton.
At about 11:38 a.m., Chopper 6 was overhead as the Honda CRV was found unoccupied on the 100 block of Miller Street in Trenton. At approximately 12:22 p.m., police received information that Gordon was barricaded, with hostages, inside a residence, in the 100 block of Phillips Avenue.
Court documents say a 911 call was placed by a resident on Phillips Avenue stating that Gordon was inside the home. Officers quickly surrounded the residence and worked to bring Gordon into custody.
But investigators say Gordon slipped out of the perimeter and he was able to change his appearance by cutting his hair. He was taken into custody around 5 p.m., about five blocks away from Phillips Avenue
In Pennsylvania, Andre Gordon is facing murder, burglary, and assault charges, along with multiple other criminal charges related to the shootings, court documents show.
In New Jersey, he faces seven charges, including first-degree carjacking, second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and second-degree unlawful possession of an assault firearm, among others.
Gordon, who authorities say is homeless, is believed to have used a ghost gun in the carjackings and killings, a probable cause affidavit obtained by Action News shows.
Ghost guns - which are untraceable, self-assembled firearms often put together using parts purchased online - have been illegal in New Jersey since 2018.
On Monday, Gordon appeared before a judge in Mercer County court for his first appearance, and he will be back in court for a detention hearing on Thursday.
Authorities in Bucks County say it could be weeks until he's brought back to Pennsylvania to face homicide charges.
