What to Know
- Four family members were killed in a violent stabbing spree at a Far Rockaway residence early Sunday morning, police officials said
- The 38-year-old relative allegedly behind the attack confronted responding police and was shot to death by one of the officers he slashed
- In all, five people died and an additional victim and two police officers were hospitalized from injuries sustained in the pre-dawn knife attack
Four family members were killed in a violent stabbing spree at a Queens residence early Sunday morning, police officials said, and the relative behind the attack went after two police officers before one shot him dead in the driveway.
The 38-year-old Bronx man allegedly behind the attack was confronted by two patrol officers responding to a 911 around 5 a.m. in the Far Rockaway neighborhood, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said at a press conference hours after the violent ordeal.
Courtney Gordon was leaving the residence on Beach 22nd Street with luggage when the responding officers stopped him, according to Maddrey. After the officers tried asking the man a couple of questions, he said Gordon drew a knife and used it to slash one cop in the neck and the other in the head.
One of those officers managed to pull his service weapon and fire a shot at the knife-wielding man, subduing him on the spot, Maddrey explained. All three were taken to a nearby hospital, where the suspect was pronounced dead, and the officers were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Additional officers arrived at the home and found a young girl, 11, laying in front of the house. She did not survive her injuries.
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News
Efforts to reach the rest of the attacker's victims who were inside the house were halted by a fire in the living room of the residence.
"It seems that [Gordon] lit the couch at the front of the location on fire as he was leaving," Chief of Detectives Joe Kenney explained.
FDNY members responded and extinguished the fire. Once first responders could get inside the home, they found four victims in a couple of the back bedrooms. Officials said a 12-year-old boy, 44-year-old woman, and man in his 30s were all dead. A 61-year-old woman who also had multiple stab wounds was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
"The weapon that was used to injure the officers, a typical kitchen steak knife, and at this time this is the only weapon we recovered," Maddrey explained. Investigators will work to determine if that blade was the same one used to stab the family members inside.
Any potential motive behind the attack is not yet known, but police said the 911 caller was being interviewed at a police stationhouse and would hopefully "shed some light" on what happened.
The investigation is ongoing.
