Shocking moment homeless man stabs two NYPD officers after murdering four family members, including 11-year-old, with same knife after they took him in off the streets
Bodycam footage reveals the shocking moment a homeless man stabbed two NYPD officers just minutes after killing a family of four with the same knife.
Courtney Gordon, 38, committed the slaying in Far Rockaway, Queens, in the early hours of December 3 before being shot dead by police.
The knifeman stabbed four family members to death before setting fire to their home and stabbing the two responding officers: Richard Gonzalez and his partner Decio.
Responding to a 911 call at 467 Beach 22nd Street, officers encountered Gordon standing in front of the property and began questioning him.
NYPD Chief Jeff Madrey said police were unable to enter the home due to the fire the suspect set as he left the home with a suitcase.
Courtney Gordon, pictured, murdered four family members β including two children β before being shot dead by police in Queens on December 2
While officers were questioning him, Gordon pulled a knife from his back pocket with his right hand and began stabbing the officers
While officers were questioning him, Gordon pulled a knife from his back pocket with his right hand and began stabbing the officers.
“Are you calling the police?” an officer asked Gordon. ‘You live here? Where do you live?’
“I’m trying to go somewhere,” Gordon replies, before charging at the officer with his knife.
Gordon was killed in the ensuing scuffle by one of the officers who had been stabbed seconds earlier.
Officer Decio was stabbed in the left side of his neck and Officer Gonzalez was stabbed in the left temple, according to police.
Officer Decio fired five shots at Gordon. He was transported to Nassau University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The officers were transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and treated for their injuries.
It was later discovered that Gordon had stabbed five members of his family at the property prior to his encounter with officers.
Police have released a photo of the knife a man used to stab four family members to death before setting fire to their home and stabbing two responding officers
Bloody fingerprints can be seen on the front door of a royal home where a man caused a stabbing attack
City workers remove bodies from a Queens home where a man allegedly committed a stabbing
The victims included two children, an 11-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy.
The 11-year-old girl reportedly lay in a pool of blood at the front of the house before being taken to hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Two other victims were a 44-year-old woman and a man in his 30s.
A 61-year-old woman was seriously injured and is being treated for multiple stab wounds.
Gordon was reportedly a homeless man who had been invited by his aunt to live with her family.
A knife used by the killer was broken on the ground after the massacre, while a body bag was also wheeled from the crime scene.
Christine Watson β his 61-year-old aunt β was also stabbed, but survived, according to the New York Daily News. She allegedly invited Gordon to stay with her after his marriage ended and he became homeless.
His mother spoke in December, saying: βI spoke to him yesterday. He just said to me, ‘Mommy, I love you’, I said, ‘I love you too, son’ – and then I get the news.”
His sister blames the mental health system for her brother’s decline and says she kept trying to help him
Gordon β a father of three β had spent the past year in and out of homeless shelters following the dissolution of his marriage and the loss of his job
During the police response, three victims were pronounced dead at the scene. A fourth person stabbed died shortly afterwards, while another three were taken to a local hospital
βMy aunt took him in because she felt sorry for him because he told her he was trying to get his life together,β Gordon’s sister, who remained anonymous, told the New York Daily News at the time.
Gordon β a father of three β had spent the past year in and out of homeless shelters following the dissolution of his marriage and the loss of his job.
She said he ‘suffered deeply, deeply from depression and mental illness’
‘I knew it was going to be bad. I wanted to tell her that this is bigger than us, to let him go back to the shelter, but no one listened to me. She took him in. There’s no reason for that.’
βHe loses his wife, he loses his happy home, he was gone,β she continued. ‘He’s lost his job. He just lost it.β
His sister also blames the mental health system for her brother’s decline and says she kept trying to help him.
βThey tell me he is an adult man (and) because of his age I could not sign the consent and give him the treatment,β she said. “I really tried because I know he wasn’t stable.”
She added that he told her he was going to try to get a job while their aunt helped him.
βMy aunt, she’s a sweetheart,β his sister said. ‘She’s a wonderful person. I didn’t think something like this would happen.”
Despite what has become of him, his sister wants people to know that her brother’s demons have consumed a once decent man.
‘He was a good person. He was happy,β she said. βI just want everyone to know that mental illness is very serious. It is real.’