A 45-year-old man killed eight people, including two young children and a heavily pregnant woman, before taking his own life inside a residence in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday afternoon, authorities said.
Police were called to the 700 block of Perry Street shortly before 5 p.m. following an automated gunshot-detection alert indicating two rounds had been fired, Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said at a Saturday news conference. When officers arrived roughly three minutes later, they found two women, ages 51 and 37, fatally shot in front of the home.
A neighbor’s doorbell camera captured the two women arriving in distress, knocking on doors and asking neighbors for assistance, according to investigators. Audio from the recording indicated muffled shots from within the house before the gunman stepped outside, called to the women and shot them, Lorah said. The assailant then stepped back inside, and witnesses heard no further shots.
Devastating discovery inside
Officers heard no sounds of movement or signs of life from the residence after arriving, prompting SWAT personnel to deploy drones and a remote robot before breaching doors, Lorah explained. Inside, officers discovered six additional victims, along with the gunman, all dead before law enforcement entered.
Police identified the victims on the ground level as a 5-year-old boy and a 22-month-old girl. Four other victims — women ages 24 and 44, and men ages 19 and 21 — were located on the second floor and near a stairwell, Lorah said. One of the female victims inside was eight months pregnant. The suspected gunman was found dead on the second floor with a registered .40-caliber handgun on his person.
Seven of the eight victims were related to the gunman, while one of the women outside was a family friend, authorities said. The second woman killed outside was related to the family by marriage. Chief Lorah noted that all the victims found inside the residence lived there, whereas the two women slain outside did not.
“Some scenes stay with you long after you leave them. This is one of those scenes,” Lorah told reporters, calling the shooting one of the most painful scenes local investigators had ever handled.
Ongoing investigation and community response
Erie Mayor Daria Devlin addressed community inquiries regarding the initial delay in public disclosures, stating that authorities needed to notify surviving household members who had been away from the property before releasing casualty figures. Devlin added that the city is working alongside healthcare systems, schools and crisis specialists to provide trauma counseling to residents.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro pledged state assistance after speaking with municipal leaders, offering condolences to the victims’ relatives and the local community on social media.
Gun violence tracking by the Gun Violence Archive recorded the Erie tragedy as at least the 19th mass murder in the nation this year, defined as an incident where four or more victims are killed, The Guardian reported.
Detectives have not determined a motive, though Lorah said investigators believe mental health issues played a factor. The shooter previously had interactions with law enforcement, but the details of those contacts have not been disclosed. Authorities are continuing to analyze digital devices and cellphones belonging to the victims outside to understand what brought them to the home before the shooting occurred.
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