Police: Suspect is barricaded in New Jersey home after killing 3 people in Philadelphia suburb

Police surround a home in Trenton, N.J., Saturday, March 16, 2024. A suspect has barricaded himself in the home and was holding hostages after shooting three people to death in suburban Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

FAIRLESS HILLS, Pa. — A suspect has barricaded himself in a home in New Jersey after allegedly shooting three people to death in suburban Philadelphia on Saturday, authorities said.

The morning shooting in Falls Township in eastern Pennsylvania forced the cancellation of a St. Patrick’s Day parade and shut down Sesame Place, a children’s theme park. Authorities in Bucks County issued a shelter-in-place order for the area for several hours, but it was canceled by early afternoon.

Police said the suspect, a 26-year-old man who was currently homeless, knew the shooting victims.

The Trenton Police Department said the suspect is believed to be hiding in a house in Trenton and that the residents were successfully evacuated with no injuries. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was assisting, as were the New Jersey State Police, the Mercer County Rapid Response Team and Mercer County Homicide Task Force. The FBI was on standby.

Falls Township police said in a statement earlier that the shootings occurred at two locations in the township. The suspect then carjacked a vehicle in a Dollar Store parking lot and drove to Trenton, where he barricaded himself in a home.

Video from a WPVI helicopter showed numerous police vehicles surrounding several blocks of homes in Trenton, where the suspect is believed to be barricaded. An officer roped off an area with crime tape, while others took cover behind vehicles. Another officer was stationed behind a wooden fence in the back of one of the multilevel homes.

Police patrol a neighborhood after a shooting on Saturday, March 16, 2024 in Falls Township, Pa. Several people have been shot after gunfire erupted in a suburban Philadelphia township, prompting authorities to warn residents to hunker down in their homes and forcing cancellation of a St. Patrick’s Day parade and a children’s theme park. (AP Photo/Michael Catalini)

Middletown Township police said the suspect has ties to addresses in Bucks and Trenton and “stays in Trenton primarily.”

Shaun Murphy, who lives in the Falls Township community of Levittown, said he was headed to the parade when he saw that the road had been blocked.

“All the neighbors were outside wondering what was going on and then we got the notice about shelter in place,” Murphy said.

“I did see ambulances coming up the street earlier without their sirens on,” Murphy said. “My neighbors were just outside with me last night, and we were just saying how great of a town and how great of a neighborhood it is.”

The Oxford Valley Mall reopened after being shut for several hours, Middletown Township police said. Other businesses would make individual decisions as to whether to operate.

This is a developing story and will be updated.