Man Killed 4 Family Members, Wounded Officers, Police Say

Two children died in New York City home attack before the suspect was shot by officers
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Dec 3, 2023 2:45 PM CST
Police Say Man Killed 4 Relatives, Stabbed Officers
Stock photo   (Getty/Mindaugas Dulinskas)

A man killed four relatives, including two children, in a knife attack at their New York City home early Sunday, then set the building on fire and stabbed two police officers before one of them fatally shot him, officials said. The rampage took place before dawn at a house in Far Rockaway, a seaside section of Queens. Police were summoned to the home just after 5am when a "young female caller" dialed 911 and said her cousin was killing her family, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said at a news briefing, per the AP.

When the officers pulled up, they stopped a man leaving the area with luggage. After a few seconds, police said, he drew a knife and attacked. One of the officers was stabbed in the area of his neck and chest, the other was slashed in the head before one of them shot the assailant, Maddrey said. An 11-year old girl was found in front of the house and taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead of stab wounds. Police weren't immediately able to enter the home because of a fire, but once inside they found three more people fatally stabbed: a 12-year-old boy, a 44-year-old woman, and a man in his 30s.

Another woman, 61, was gravely injured. She is in critical condition suffering from multiple stab wounds, per the AP. Both injured police officers are expected to recover. The suspect was identified as Courtney Gordon, 38, who police said had been visiting the family from his home in the Bronx. The identities of the victims were not immediately disclosed. "This scene was chaos. Multiple victims, a house on fire, and a madman on a rampage, on a mission," said Patrick Hendry, head of the New York Police Department's police union.

(More stabbing attack stories.)

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