Mom Recalls Terrifying Struggle With Man Accused Of Killing Her Daughter
A Pennsylvania mother who attempted to fight off a gunman accused of killing her daughter in a violent spree last week recalled the last moments she saw her child alive in an interview Monday.
On March 16, 26-year-old Andre Gordon allegedly forced his way into the home of Nancy Daniel, 61. According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by HuffPost, Gordon killed Daniel’s 25-year-old daughter, Taylor Daniel, with whom he had two children.
Nancy Daniel told ABC affiliate WPVI-TV that Taylor grabbed her two girls and locked herself in a bedroom with them before Gordon arrived.
“The first thing I remember is Taylor coming to me saying, ‘Mom, Andre’s here, he’s got a gun. Go in your room,’” Nancy Daniel told the outlet.
She said Gordon broke into her home and tore her daughter’s bedroom door down.
According to the affidavit, Nancy Daniel left her bedroom after hearing gunshots and struck Gordon with a wooden axe handle. Gordon hit Nancy Daniel in the head with his rifle before leaving the scene.
Taylor Daniel’s brother, John Daniel, was also home at the time of the incident. He told investigators that he found his sister unresponsive and their mother with a head injury. After finding them, he took his nieces out of the room.
According to the affidavit, Taylor Daniel was pronounced dead at the scene.
“She lived for those girls. They were everything to her. She protected them to the end,” Nancy Daniel told WPVI-TV.
In addition to the Daniels, Gordon attacked members of his own family, the affidavit details. Earlier on March 16, just minutes before Taylor Daniel called police, Gordon allegedly fatally shot his stepmother and teen sister inside their home in Falls Township.
Almost 10 minutes after allegedly killing Taylor Daniel, Gordon robbed a man at gunpoint and fled the area in the victim’s car, according to the affidavit. That car was found abandoned in Trenton, New Jersey, a short drive away.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Gordon barricaded himself along with several hostages inside a home in Trenton. Gordon escaped from the home but was apprehended on foot several blocks away, police said. Gordon is facing charges of murder, burglary and assault in Pennsylvania. In New Jersey, he’s also facing several charges, including unlawful possession of an assault firearm, according to an announcement by the New Jersey attorney general’s office.
The Daniel family told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Gordon and Taylor Daniel were in an on-and-off relationship for at least seven years. The family said Taylor Daniel had noticed Gordon was acting “irrational,” and he stopped seeing his daughters in June of last year.
Police did not mention a clear motive behind the incident. Falls Township Police Chief Nelson Whitney told reporters on Monday that while the suspect had previous minor incidents with the law, there was “nothing that would indicate that anything like this would happen,” Fox affiliate WTXF-TV reports.
An attorney was not listed in Gordon’s court record. No date was assigned for his next hearing in Pennsylvania, but according to WPVI, he’s set to return to court in New Jersey on Thursday for his detention hearing.
According to a separate probable cause affidavit cited by WPVI, Pennsylvania authorities believed Gordan had acquired a “ghost gun” used in the carjacking and killing.
