A somber mood enveloped what was to be a festive St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Levittown Saturday
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Groups of paradegoers were lining up along New Falls Roads and marchers were lining up outside Conwell-Egan Catholic High School Saturday morning when sirens pierced the air.
“We saw a Bristol Township cop coming down New Falls. He wasn’t going to stop for anyone,” one bystander said.
Melissa Anne, a Falls Township resident, said she was lining up with her family and friends ahead of the parade when the shelter-in-place alert caused her phone to vibrate.
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“We didn’t know what caused it at first. Then there was a policeman telling everyone to get home because there was an emergency,” she recalled.
“[My sister] or I didn’t know if it was a accident with a float or heart attack, but we never thought it was an active shooting,” she said.
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After conversations with police, the organizers of the Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day Parade made the decision to cancel the event.
The organizers released the below statement:
On behalf of the Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee and our Grand Marshal, Steve Aldrich, we wish to extend our deepest sympathies to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy.
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Moments before hundreds of marchers, many community and children organizations were set to march, we received the alert from Falls Township Police. Their quick response enabled parade participants and those gathered to celebrate time to get to safety.
What should have been a joyous occasion was darkened by the actions of a single individual.
The Parade Committee wishes to thank the brave and quick responses of the Falls Township, Bristol Township, and Middletown Township police along with all of our First Responders.
Our prayers are with our community.
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Falls Township Chief of Police Nelson Whitney said officers worked to quickly remove people from the parade route.
“It was a dynamic situation,” he said. “At first, we weren’t sure where the actor was or where he was going to end up. Out of caution, we wanted to keep everybody safe. The community did a good job of honoring that.”
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The shelter-in-place order led to numerous stores to close or lock the doors, including some in the Oxford Valley Mall.
“The workers at Barnes and Noble told us there was a police emergency and they were closing,” one reader said in a message.
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Another reader said that there was some panic in Target as customers were made aware of the police order and others began hearing of shootings in the area.
Middletown Township police said they directed Sesame Place to close during the shelter in place.
After police confirmed Gordon was in Trenton around noon, officials lifted the shelter-in place order in Bucks County.
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