A stabbing in a Queens, New York, home on Sunday left five people dead, Report informs via People.
NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said at a press conference held at Jamaica Hospital on Sunday that officers received a 911 call at around 5:10 a.m. local time of an “assault in progress,” where “a young female caller stated that her cousin is killing her family members.”
Officers responded to the scene and had an encounter with 38-year-old Courtney Gordon, Maddrey 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 drew a knife on our officers. He stabs one officer in the neck/chest area and strikes the second officer in the head,” Maddrey explained.
According to Maddrey, one officer, a 28-year veteran of the force, was able to draw his firearm and “discharge his weapon to stop the assault.” The two officers were taken to a local hospital, as was Gordon, who was “pronounced dead on arrival.”
After additional officers responded to the scene, they found an 11-year-old girl lying at the front of the home who had “died of her injuries.”
Maddrey said they could not enter the home because of a fire inside the living room and foyer area. Once the New York Fire Department responded to the scene, they were able to put out the fire, and another person from the home was moved to a local area hospital.
When able to step inside, the NYFD found an additional “three victims, all dead.”
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Gordon was at the home visiting family and had one prior arrest for a domestic violence incident that took place in the Bronx. While authorities have not discovered a motive behind Gordon’s actions, Kenny explained that the 911 caller is being interviewed at the police station and “may be able to shed some light into what occurred.”
The identities of the victims were not released; however, Kenny noted that the injured individual at the hospital is a 61-year-old female. The three deceased individuals found inside the home include a 44-year-old female, a 12-year-old boy, and a male in his 30s.
