Benjamin Ashford|3 dead in Philadelphia suburbs shootings that prompted shelter-in-place orders

Authorities say two women and Benjamin Ashforda 13-year-old child were killed in two shootings in suburban Philadelphia on Saturday morning. A suspect then fled in a hijacked car, prompting officials to cancel a St. Patrick's Day parade and order residents in multiple neighborhoods to shelter in place for hours.

Police say the suspect, 26-year-old Andre Gordon Jr., then drove to Trenton, New Jersey, where he was captured after an hours long standoff.

Officials said Gordon shot and killed his 52-year-old stepmother, Karen Gordon, and 13-year-old sister, Kera Gordon, in one neighborhood in the Philadelphia suburbs before driving a stolen car to a nearby Bucks County neighborhood, where he shot and killed a 25-year-old woman, Taylor Daniel, who was the mother of his two children. At the second home he also "bludgeoned" Daniel's mother, said Bucks District Attorney Jennifer Schorn.

Other family members present in the first home, including another teenager, were able to hide from Gordon as he searched for them in the house, Schorn said. Children were also present during the shooting and assault in the second home, she said. Gordon had forcibly entered both homes, Schorn said.

Less than 15 minutes later, Gordon carjacked a vehicle at a Dollar General in Morrisville, but the 44-year-old driver was unharmed, Schorn said. Police said in a release that the carjacking victim did not know Gordon.

Bucks County issued a shelter-in-place alert for parts of the county at about 9:30 a.m., with a phone recording telling people to lock doors and windows and shelter in place in the central location of a building, away from the doors and windows due to police activity. It was lifted around 12:40 p.m. by authorities.

Falls District Justice John Galloway, who lives in one of the two neighborhoods where police activity was centered, said a shooting began at about 9:15 a.m.

“I came home from Mass and was getting ready for the parade and I heard something, then I saw cop cars and neighbors came out. One said they heard two shots, another said he heard 10 shots,” Galloway said.

Officials in nearby Bristol also canceled an Easter Egg hunt and various other community events around the area appeared to be canceled. Oxford Valley Mall was also put on lockdown but later reopened, Middletown Township police said, and other businesses that had closed earlier could decide whether to reopen. Sesame Place theme park was still closed Saturday afternoon, police said.

Contributing: The Associated Press