A suspect had killed four of his family members at their Far Rockaway home and slashed two police officers before cops shot him dead Sunday morning, according to the NYPD.
Officers received a 911 call from a teenage girl who said her cousin “was killing her family members” at 467 Beach 22nd Street, a multi–family home, around 5:10 a.m. Sunday, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said during a press conference.
When responding officers arrived at the location, one cop was slashed in the face by the suspect, who was attempting to leave the home with luggage in tow while a second officer was slashed in the neck, police said.
“As they get to the driveway they see a male walking out. He’s carrying luggage. The officers asked the male a question or two, an encounter that lasted about 10 seconds, where the male draws a knife on our officers.
He stabs one officer in the neck/chest area and strikes the second officer in the head,” Maddery said. A 28-year veteran officer then shot the suspect, killing him, according to the NYPD.
After confronting the suspect, police had to wait for firefighters to arrive to extinguish a fire that was preventing them from entering the home.
Officers discovered a young child had died from her injuries right outside of the home. Three other victims were then found dead inside of the home, all four believed to have been stabbed to death, police added.
The injured NYPD officers were taken to Jamaica Hospital, where they were expected to recover, according to sources. The suspect, identified by police as 39-year-old Courtney Gordon, was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead upon his arrival, police said.
