Three people have been shot and killed in Pennsylvania in the eastern United States. A suspect later fled to a neighboring state and was arrested.

Police say that a 26-year-old man broke into two houses in Levittown and shot his stepmother, his sister and another person. All three died.

Officials say that, following the shootings, the suspect carjacked a vehicle and drove to Trenton, New Jersey, where he barricaded himself inside a house and took the residents hostage.

Police say the residents were rescued safely from the second floor, but the man remained holed up in the house with a rifle.

The Associated Press quoted the police saying that he was later apprehended.

At one point, authorities instructed people living near the shooting scenes in Levittown to remain indoors.