A New York home was the scene of a family tragedy when a man stabbed four members of his family before attacking police, who had no choice but to shoot him.
Around 5:10 a.m., authorities received a call from a young teenage girl who claimed her cousin was “killing her family members” at an apartment building on 22nd Street in Queens.
When they arrived at the scene, police saw the 38-year-old suspect – Courtney Gordon – allegedly attacking them with a knife.
“As they pulled into the driveway, they saw a man come out. He was carrying luggage. The officers asked the man a question or two and an encounter lasted about ten seconds during which the man pointed a knife at him [eux]. “He stabbed one officer in the neck and chest and hit the second officer in the head,” Chief Jeffrey Maddrey of the New York Police Department said during a news conference.
At that time, a police officer with 28 years of professional experience shot the suspect. The latter was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
After subduing the suspect, police had to wait for firefighters to arrive and put out a fire that prevented them from entering the house. “As it appears [le suspect] “I set fire to a chair in the entrance area before I left the premises,” said New York Police Department Chief Inspector Joseph Kenny.
An 11-year-old girl was found lifeless outside the home. The latter died of her injuries in hospital. Inside, police found three more dead victims, a 12-year-old boy, a 44-year-old woman and a man in his 30s. According to police, they were all stabbed.
Finally, another victim, a 61-year-old woman, was rescued and taken to hospital in critical condition. The injured police officers were also taken to hospital but there is no fear for their lives.
The suspect had previously been arrested for domestic violence. According to Inspector Kenny, everything indicates that this man living in the Bronx was visiting his family at the time of the tragedy.
The investigation is ongoing.