5 People Dead After Fatal Stabbing Incident At A Burning Home In Queens

A tragic stabbing incident in Queens claimed at least five lives, including the suspect, identified as 38-year-old Courtney Gordon.

Responding to a call, officers confronted Gordon, who was seen leaving the scene with luggage. He attacked officers, prompting a police shooting.

Tragedy unfolded in Queens on Sunday as a stabbing incident left at least five people dead, including the suspect.

According to the reports, authorities responded to a stabbing at 467 Beach 22nd Street in Far Rockaway around 5 a.m. Per NYPD Chief of Patrol Jeffrey Maddrey, the caller informed the police that her cousin was “killing her family members.”

Upon arrival, officers encountered a man leaving the residence with luggage. During questioning, he “stabs one officer in the neck, chest area, and strikes a second officer in the head.”

In response to the attack, another officer fatally shot the suspect, who was later identified as 38-year-old Courtney Gordon from the Bronx. Gordon was pronounced dead at the hospital.

In a statement, Maddrey commended the veteran officer, stating, "Our 28-year veteran is able to draw his firearm. He's able to discharge his weapon to stop the assault, and he was able to stop the perpetrator.”

Following the incident, authorities discovered an 11-year-old girl outside the Queens home with stab wounds, but despite immediate medical attention, she succumbed to her injuries.

The police could not immediately enter the residence as it was on fire, suspected to be intentionally set by the assailant. Once the FDNY extinguished the flames, law enforcement entered the home to find three additional victims: a 12-year-old boy, a 44-year-old woman, and a man in his 30s, all believed to have been fatally stabbed.

Per the reports, a 61-year-old woman was also found inside the home with multiple stab wounds and is currently in critical condition after being hospitalized.

Investigators suspect that all the individuals, identified as relatives of the assailant, suffered stab wounds in the tragic incident. However, the names of the victims have not been disclosed at this time.

The alleged perpetrator, Gordon, is a 38-year-old man with a prior domestic strangulation arrest in the Bronx. He is believed to have resided in the Bronx and was visiting family members in Queens.

According to CBS News, Maddrey revealed that authorities recovered a kitchen steak knife used by the suspect, stating: "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.”

He added: “So as part of the investigation, we'll determine if this was the weapon that was used to harm all the victims.”

The two officers, who sustained stab wounds, were transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where they are anticipated to recover. Maddrey conveyed a positive outlook, stating, “Our department surgeon, Dr. [Eli] Kleinman, is here. He is saying that they will walk out of here, that they will be OK.”

In an interview with NY1, a Far Rockaway resident, Charles Isaac Fergusson, shared his broader concerns, attributing the incident to issues in the city and country.

He remarked, “Horrible. Horribly concerned that this is happening here. Horribly concerned there’s a growing violent trend in the country, not just here in Rockaway. This is symptomatic of what’s happening everywhere.”