4 family members dead, suspect fatally shot by police in Queens: NYPD
Written by worldOneFm on December 3, 2023
FAR ROCKAWAY, Queens (WPIX) — A man is believed to have fatally stabbed four family members, including two children, before he was shot and killed by police in Queens Sunday morning, officials said.
Authorities responded to the incident between Brookhaven and Elk Drive in Far Rockaway at around 5 a.m., according to the NYPD. Four people were pronounced dead at the scene and a 61-year-old woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition with multiple stab wounds, police said.
The young 911 caller said her cousin was killing her family members, according to NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey.
The suspect, identified as Courtney Gordon, fatally stabbed a 12-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy, a 44-year-old woman, and a man in his 30s at the home before setting the couch on fire on his way out the door, Maddrey said.
The FDNY responded to that fire at the home at around 5:17 a.m., officials said. After firefighters put out the blaze, the officers were able to enter the home. The girl was found in the front entrance and the other three victims were found in two back bedrooms, police said.
Two cops spotted Gordon, 38, near the home carrying luggage and stopped him to ask some questions, police said. The suspect then pulled a kitchen steak knife and slashed one officer in the neck and the other in the head, Maddrey said.
One of the officers shot Gordon, who later died at the hospital, officials said.
The officers were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.
The investigation is ongoing.
