Andre Gordon Jr. was ordered to stand trial for killing three of his family members, including his 13-year-old sister, during a murderous rampage in Falls Township in March.

Gordon, with no known address, had a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Terrence Hughes at the Criminal Justice Center on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. The hearing was held in absentia as Gordon refused to come out of his jail cell to be transported to the Justice Center.

After hearing testimony from two witnesses and a Bucks County Detective and reviewing photos, bodycam footage and heartbreaking 911 calls placed by two of the victims, Hughes sent all charges against Gordon to the Court of Common Pleas.

Gordon is charged with three counts each of murder of the first degree and murder of the second degree, and numerous counts of burglary, aggravated assault, robbery of a motor vehicle, robbery, unlawful restraint, discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, theft by unlawful taking, possession of an instrument of crime, terroristic threats, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person.

Prior to the preliminary hearing, District Attorney Jennifer Schorn informed the court that a count of attempted homicide was also being filed against Gordon.

Gordon’s next scheduled court date is June 14 for his formal arraignment.

On the morning of March 16, Gordon shot and killed his 52-year-old stepmother Karen Gordon, his 13-year-old sister Kera Gordon, and 25-year-old Taylor Daniel, with whom he had two children.

The violent spree paralyzed several communities in Bucks County and Trenton, where Gordon was ultimately arrested hours later.

The violence began at 8:52 a.m. when Falls Township Police were dispatched to the unit block of Viewpoint Lane, Levittown, to investigate the report of a shooting. 

The investigation determined that Gordon arrived to the location driving a stolen vehicle that he carjacked in Trenton, New Jersey, and forcibly broke into the residence where Gordon’s father lived.

Doorbell camera footage played at Wednesday’s preliminary hearing showed Gordon confronting his father outside before kicking the door and then using the rifle to break the glass on the door.

Bucks County Detective Tim Fuhrmann testified Wednesday that after entering the home, Gordon “started hunting the residents of the house.”

The family fled into different rooms of the house for safety. Karen Gordon called 911 from a converted office where she and her daughter Kera were hiding. In the 911 call played in court, she told a dispatcher, “My stepson, he’s the one shooting. Please we’ve got children in here!”

Screams and shots are then heard followed by silence.

Karen and Kera were found dead upon police arrival. Gordon’s father and Karen Gordon’s other teenage daughter were inside the house and were unharmed. A relative visiting from London also escaped uninjured.

Fuhrmann testified that Gordon then fled his father’s home and drove to the unit block of Edgewood Lane, Levittown, at 9:01 a.m., where he forced his way inside the residence and shot and killed Taylor Daniel, the mother of his two children. 

A 911 call from Edgewood Lane was played where Taylor Daniel could be heard telling everyone inside the house to get inside their rooms and lock the doors. “He’s got a gun,” she screamed.

That call ends similarly with screaming and gunshots followed by silence. Shortly after, children could be heard crying, and one called out, “mommy.”

Besides Daniel’s 5-year-old and 3-year-old daughters, her brother and mother were also present inside. Her mother Nancy Daniel was injured when Gordon bludgeoned her with an assault rifle when she tried to stop him. She was transported to the hospital and treated for injuries, which included a gash to her head that required six staples.  

Schorn described the actions of Karen Gordon and Taylor Daniel in trying to save their children as heroic.

“I truly believe things could’ve been much worse, which is truly hard to comprehend because this case is so heinous,” Schorn said. “[Nancy Daniel] was heroic, and she showed such courage today to testify. She deserves to be commended.”

After fleeing the Edgewood Lane home, Gordon carjacked a 44-year-old male Morrisville resident at gunpoint in the parking lot of the Dollar General, Bristol Pike, Morrisville.

The carjacking victim also testified at Wednesday’s hearing, identifying a photo of the AR-15 rifle Gordon pulled on him before fleeing in his girlfriend’s Honda CRV. He was not injured in the robbery.

Police issued a shelter-in-place order, which lasted three hours until Gordon was tracked to New Jersey.

At approximately 11:38 a.m., the car Gordon carjacked was located, unoccupied, in the 100 block of Miller Street in Trenton, New Jersey.  At approximately 12:22 p.m., police received information that Gordon was barricaded, with hostages, inside a residence in the 100 block of Phillips Street.

Gordon was taken into custody at 5 p.m., about five blocks away from the home. Gordon had altered his appearance to try and conceal his identity by cutting his hair prior to his apprehension. He was extradited to Bucks County in April.  

This case was investigated by Detectives with the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and the Falls Township Police Department, with assistance from the Bristol Township Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Trenton Police Department, Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, New Jersey State Police and the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General.

This case is assigned for prosecution to District Attorney Jennifer Schorn and First Assistant District Attorney Ed Louka.

Media Contact: Manuel Gamiz Jr., 215.348.6298, mgamiz@buckscount.org

Criminal charges are allegations subject to proof in court. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.