Nine people, including two young children and a pregnant woman, were killed in a shooting at a residence in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday, with the suspected gunman dying from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said Saturday.
According to NBC News and USA TODAY, the victims included seven family members of the 45-year-old suspected shooter and a family friend. The victims ranged in age from 22 months to 51 years, according to police accounts.
Erie police received a gunshot detection alert at about 4:52pm Friday and responded to a residence on the 700 block of Perry Street. Police Chief Rick Lorah said officers arrived about three minutes after the alert and found two women, aged 51 and 37, fatally wounded outside the house.
Investigators reviewing a neighbour’s doorbell camera footage found that the women appeared distressed as they approached the residence and knocked on the door seeking assistance. Audio from the footage appeared to capture muffled gunfire from inside the house before the suspect came outside and shot the women as they ran towards him, Lorah said.
The suspect then returned inside the residence. Police reported no further gunshots after officers arrived.
Officers initially could not establish contact with anyone inside the house. According to a statement from the Erie city government cited by USA TODAY, police secured the area before a special weapons and tactics (SWAT) team entered and cleared the residence.
The officers initially saw no movement inside and heard no gunshots or cries for help. Police said they had limited information about whether the suspect remained inside or posed an ongoing threat. The city clarified that the deaths occurred before officers entered the house and that the incident did not involve a prolonged standoff or a delay caused by obtaining a search warrant.
After deploying a robot to assess the scene, officers entered the residence and found several victims. A 5-year-old boy and a 22-month-old girl were found on the first floor, while four other victims — women aged 24 and 44 and men aged 19 and 21 — were discovered in a stairwell on the second floor.
The suspected shooter, a 45-year-old man whose identity had not been publicly released, was found dead on the second floor. Police recovered a .40-caliber handgun registered to him, Lorah said.
One of the victims found inside the house was eight months pregnant. Police said the victims found inside lived at the residence, while the two women killed outside did not. One of the women was a family friend, while the other was related to a family member, according to police accounts.
Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said his office was working to confirm the identities of the deceased. Authorities had not publicly released their names or announced final determinations on the causes of death as of Saturday afternoon, USA TODAY reported.
Lorah described the scene as the worst he had encountered during his law enforcement career. He said investigators were examining evidence, reviewing cellphones and interviewing relatives and witnesses to establish what led to the shooting.
Although the police chief said mental health could be a factor, he stressed that investigators had not established a motive. He also noted that police had previously had contact with the suspected shooter, with the last interaction he recalled occurring in 2022.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he had spoken with Erie Mayor Daria Devlin and offered the state government’s support to the victims’ families and the wider community.
“My heart breaks for this family,” Shapiro wrote on social media, adding that he and his wife were praying for the victims’ loved ones and the Erie community.
Devlin said the city was coordinating with crisis services, behavioural health providers, schools and community organisations to provide support to affected residents. Erie County District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz also urged the public to avoid spreading rumours and unverified information while the investigation continues.
The shooting occurred on the same weekend that two Philadelphia police officers were shot early Saturday. Shapiro described the incidents as a dark day for Pennsylvania.
Erie is located about 190 kilometres north of Pittsburgh.
