New York stabbing: Knifeman kills four members of his extended family, including two children, police say

Four people, including two children, have been killed by a relative in New York, according to police.

Those stabbed to death included a 12-year-old boy, an 11-year-old girl, a 44-year-old woman and a man in his 30s.

Officers were called to reports of an incident in the city’s Queens borough after a girl said “her cousin is killing her family members”.

The 11-year-old was found in front of the house and the other three were found inside bedrooms, police added.

A fifth person, a 61-year-old woman, is in a critical condition in hospital after suffering from multiple stab wounds.

Suspect Courtney Gordon, 38, was shot dead by police.

The two officers who responded to the scene on Sunday morning were also stabbed, police said.

Jeffrey Maddrey, NYPD chief of patrol, said one officer was struck in the neck and the other in the face.

The two officers were taken to hospital and are expected to recover.

Read more US news:
Suspect identified in deaths of three homeless people
Inflatable Santa Claus gunned down in drive-by shooting

“The weapon that was used to injure the officers was a typical kitchen steak knife,” Mr Maddrey told a press conference on Saturday.

He said it is unknown at this stage if it was the same weapon used against the other victims.

Mr Maddrey said additional offers sent to the scene were not able to enter the home immediately because there was a fire inside the living room.

It is believed Gordon had been visiting the family at their home in the Far Rockaway neighbourhood.

“This scene was chaos. Multiple victims, a house on fire, and a mad man on a rampage, on a mission,” Patrick Hendry, the head of the New York Police Department’s police union, said.

“The skill that this police officer had shooting and stopping the threat after he was being stabbed. Unbelievable skill,” he said.