Far Rockaway stabbings: Relative's rampage leaves 4 family members dead, including 2 children
QUEENS - A stabbing rampage at a Queens home engulfed in flames left four family members dead, including two children, before police shot and killed the suspect after he stabbed two officers, authorities said.
NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said at a Sunday press conference that around 5:10 a.m., officers received a 911 call from a teenage girl saying her "cousin is stabbing my family" at a home on Beach 22nd St. in the Far Rockaway section.
When officers arrived, they found it engulfed in flames, with a man, later identified as Courtney Gordon, 38, of the Bronx, walking out of the house with luggage. Officers asked if he had seen or heard anything.
‘The male draws a knife on our officers’
"As they get to the driveway, they see a male walking out. He’s carrying luggage," Maddery said. "The officers asked the male a question or two, an encounter that lasted about 10 seconds, where the male draws a knife on our officers. He stabs one officer in the neck/chest area and strikes the second officer in the head."
An officer then shot the suspect, killing him, an NYPD spokesperson said.
Both officers were taken to Jamaica Hospital, but released Sunday night, police said, where they were applauded for their heroism just outside the hospital.
The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation has opened an investigation into the death of Gordon.
‘We found another three victims, all dead’
According to police, the stabbing suspect set a fire inside the home. FDNY responded to put it out and as the smoke cleared, one grim discovery followed another.
"We found another three victims, all dead," Maddrey said. "We believe everyone who is dead, the family members, the four family members, were all because of stab wounds."
Police have identified the victims as Richmond Davis (believed to be in his 30s), Suzette Taylor-Davis, 44, and children Rojean Davis, 12, and Mikklia James, 11.
"The kids especially were very joyful kids, very peaceful, so it’s unfortunate what occurred," a close neighbor remembered.
The only evidence police had shared was an image of a common kitchen knife.
Family of Gordon reacts
The family of Gordon began to suspect he was suffering from mental health issues earlier this year.
Sean McKoy said his cousin’s behavior continued to decline until it took a drastic turn for the worse this week.
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The family of 38-year-old Courtney Gordon began to suspect he was suffering from mental health issues earlier this year.
"As a cousin, I tried my best to get him a job, try to work with him, and it just wasn’t working out," McKoy said.
McKoy and his mother let Gordon live at their home for a few months, but ultimately, threw him out following frequent outbursts and uncontrollable anger.
"We tried to get help for him, tried to get mental health, get workers to come in to see what was going on with him and he refused it," McKoy added.