Eight killed in Erie, Pennsylvania mass shooting by grandfather gunman

A 45-year-old grandfather shot and killed eight people, including a pregnant woman and two young children, at a home in Erie, Pennsylvania. The gunman, related to seven of the victims, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Grandfather kills eight family members in Erie home shooting

A 45-year-old man shot and killed eight people inside a home on Perry Street in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday evening before dying of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Fox News reports. The victims included a pregnant woman, her 5-year-old son, a 1-year-old girl, and the woman's unborn baby.

Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah confirmed that the gunman was related to seven of the eight victims. The eighth victim was a friend of the pregnant woman. Authorities have not publicly identified the shooter or any of the victims.

Julius Windham, father of 1-year-old victim Amarianna, stood at a memorial outside the home on Sunday and described the gunman as a man who had shown no outward signs of distress beforehand.

"Him every day, him smiling and being just — you would think of nothing like that would happen," Windham said. "I think that was a front for him."

Windham wore a T-shirt bearing photos of the women and children killed, printed with the words "Forever In My Heart."

"Words can't even explain what I'm going through right now," Windham said. "But I gotta be strong for my community, you know what I'm saying? My family, my daughters, my sons, everybody."

'A good guy, and then he started going downhill'

Nicole and Debra Eller, whose best friend was among those killed, said they had known the family for more than 30 years. Nicole Eller described the shooter as someone who had once been well-regarded.

"He was a good guy, and then he started going downhill with everything," she said.

"They were a lovely family. Who would have thought this would ever happen?" Debra Eller said. "Oh my gosh, this is so upsetting. This should have never happened to her or the kids or anybody. His grandchildren, his kids, how can you do that?"

Sequence of events

Investigators recovered video and audio evidence capturing muffled gunshots from inside the home shortly before two women arrived and began pounding on the front door in apparent distress, Lorah said. The gunman came outside and shot both women as they ran toward him, then returned inside.

Police received an alert through ShotSpotter, a gunshot-detection system, and officers arrived within minutes. No additional shots were fired after their arrival. Lorah said sounds later reported as gunfire were in fact flash-bang devices deployed by SWAT officers during the operation.

Responding officers found the two women dead outside the home. Following the deployment of a drone and a robot, police entered the residence and discovered the bodies of the 5-year-old boy and the 1-year-old girl on the first floor. Two more women and two young men were found in a stairwell. The shooter was found dead on the second floor.

"Out of respect for the victims and the families, I will not discuss the details of what our officers encountered inside that home," Lorah said at a news conference. "But I want our community to understand the gravity of what happened and the profound impact this tragedy has had on those involved and on our community as a whole."

Motive under investigation

Lorah declined to discuss a possible motive but indicated that mental health may be a factor. He said investigators would interview relatives and examine the cellphones of the two women found dead outside, noting they appeared to have had prior knowledge of events inside the house.

"They knew something was going on at that house," Lorah said. "We have to figure out what that is."

The police chief also acknowledged the toll the scene had taken on first responders.

"Some scenes stay with you long after you leave them. This is one of those tragic scenes," he said.

Officials respond

Mourners gathered Sunday outside the home at 722 Perry Street, leaving candles, flowers and stuffed animals at an improvised memorial. Firefighters were seen cleaning blood from outside the building.

Erie Mayor Daria Devlin said officers "arrived at a horrific scene, faced unimaginable circumstances, and carried out their duties with courage and professionalism."

"They too are members of this community, and they too will carry the weight of what happened last night," Devlin said at a Saturday news conference. Addressing the victims' families directly, she added: "I am so deeply sorry. What happened to you was horrific, and there is nothing that any of us can say today that will make this any easier. Our entire community is with you, we're grieving with you. And we are here to support you."

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he had spoken with Devlin and offered his administration's "full support" in the aftermath of what he described as "the tragic mass shooting."

Source: Google News MT