Queens stabbing rampage leaves 4 relatives dead, 2 officers injured
FAR ROCKAWAY, Queens (WABC) -- Police say a man went on a stabbing rampage in a Queens home Sunday morning, killing four relatives, including two kids, before attacking two responding police officers. The suspect was shot and killed by one of the officers.
At about 5 a.m., officers received a 911 call about an assault in progress at a home on Beach 22nd Street in Far Rockaway. "A young female caller stated that her cousin is killing her family members," NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said at a news conference describing the horrifying events.
Officers responded to the location and approached a man they say was leaving the driveway of the residence with luggage.
Police say 38-year-old Courtney Gordon encountered responding officers in the street and slashed two of them with a kitchen knife before officers fatally shot him.
When officers arrived at the home, they found an 11-year-old girl lying on the ground outside the residence. She was taken to Cohen Children's Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.
Officers say the man set fire to a couch in the living room, which made it difficult for them to enter the home until FDNY arrived.
Once the fire was extinguished, law enforcement entered the home and discovered three people dead with fatal stab wounds, including a 12-year-old boy, a 44-year-old woman, and a 30-year-old man.
A 61-year-old woman, who suffered multiple stab wounds, was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens Hospital in critical condition.
The two NYPD officers who were slashed were taken to Jamaica Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Both officers were released from the hospital Sunday evening.
"When I first walked out of the hospital and saw the two pairs of officers, clearly could see that they were shaking, see that they were really, they were just confused, wondering what they just went through. Think about it, they went through their whole night, probably went through many nights like this -- they walk into sheer terror, they're walking into a take their lives and tried to kill them and who just killed an innocent family," said Chief Maddrey.
Police said the officers were stabbed with a typical kitchen steak knife. They are working to determine if that was the weapon used in the attack.
"I really have to commend them they did an excellent job," said Chief Maddrey about the work of the responding officers. "They could've easily let this person walk past them with his luggage, but instead they stopped, asked a couple of questions, tried to gain some intel before they walked right up in there. Unfortunately, they were met with the perpetrator in this incident, he went right at him."
During the news conference after the incident, officials say Gordon, who has one prior arrest for strangulation in a domestic violence incident, is believed to have been visiting family at the residence.
The names of the victims have not yet been released. It is unclear what the motive was for the attack.
An investigation is ongoing.
----------
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
