A gunman killed eight people, including two young children and a pregnant woman, at a home in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday, October 9, then took his own life, police say.
Story Highlights
- Nine people are dead in all: eight victims and the gunman, who police say shot himself.
- Among the dead are a 1-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy and a pregnant woman.
- Police now say every death happened before officers arrived, and no shots were fired after they got there.
- Police say the gunman was related to most of the people he killed. No names or motive have been released.
Two Women at the Door
Shortly before 5 p.m. on Friday, two women came to a home in the 700 block of Perry Street on Erie’s east side and began pounding on the door, according to police. Both were shot dead outside. Investigators plan to go through the two women’s cellphones. “They knew something was going on at that house,” Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said.
Officers got there within minutes of a ShotSpotter alert. ShotSpotter is a system of hidden microphones that picks up the sound of gunfire and alerts police to where it came from.
What Police Found Inside
The SWAT team, the department’s specially trained unit for armed and dangerous situations, went into the home after getting a warrant. Officers found a 1-year-old girl on the first floor, two women and two young men in a stairwell, and the gunman, a 45-year-old man, on the second floor, police said. One of the women killed was pregnant. A 5-year-old boy was also among the dead.
Police say the gunman was related to seven of the eight people he killed. The eighth was a friend of the pregnant woman.
Police Correct Their First Account
On Saturday, October 10, police and the city corrected early reports of a long standoff with gunfire inside. They said all nine deaths happened before officers arrived and that no more shots were fired after police got there. Officers outside heard no gunshots, no cries for help and no movement inside the house, police said, and would have gone in at once if they had.
The loud bangs neighbors heard during the police response were not gunfire. “Sounds that may have been mistaken for gunfire came from flashbang devices,” Chief Lorah said. A flashbang is a device police throw to stun people with a loud blast and a bright flash.
No Motive Yet
Police have not named the gunman or the victims, and Chief Lorah declined to discuss a motive. “The loss of life is devastating, and the circumstances we are working through are deeply disturbing,” he said. He called it “one of the most difficult and heartbreaking scenes our officers and investigators have ever encountered.”
Erie Mayor Daria Devlin said the situation had been contained and there is no threat to the public. Gov. Josh Shapiro said his “heart breaks for this family.”
Sources:
erienewsnow.com, post-gazette.com, wtae.com, abc7news.com
