Saturday, October 10 — Erie police released the full victim breakdown in Friday night's house massacre, and it is worse than anyone feared. A 45-year-old gunman murdered eight people inside and outside a home on Perry Street — including a 5-year-old boy, a 1-year-old girl, and a 24-year-old woman who was eight months pregnant — before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Seven of the eight victims were the gunman's relatives. The eighth was a friend of the pregnant woman. Police have not identified the shooter and say the motive is still unknown.
Police Chief Rick Lorah laid out the victims by age at a Saturday afternoon news conference alongside Mayor Daria Devlin and District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz: a 51-year-old woman, a 37-year-old woman, a 44-year-old woman, the 24-year-old pregnant woman, a 19-year-old man, a 21-year-old man, the 5-year-old boy, and the 1-year-old girl. "Some scenes stay with you long after you leave them," Lorah said. "This is one of those tragic scenes."
Investigators also reconstructed the first minutes. Video and audio evidence shows two distressed women arriving at the residence shortly before 5 p.m. Friday, pounding on the door and pacing back and forth seeking help from neighbors. The gunman came outside, shot both women as they ran toward him, and went back inside. Responding officers found the two women dead in the street. Inside the home, they found six more victims — and the gunman, dead on the second floor with a gun beside him.
The city also moved Saturday to shut down rumors about the police response. Officials confirmed officers arrived within minutes of a ShotSpotter gunfire alert, that every one of the nine deaths happened before police got there, and that the sounds witnesses mistook for more gunfire during the standoff were flashbang devices used by the tactical team. "The deaths were not the result of any prolonged standoff or delay in police action," the city said. Mayor Devlin praised the department: officers "arrived at a horrific scene, faced unimaginable circumstances, and carried out their duties with courage and professionalism."
Friday, October 9 — The horror started just before 5 p.m. Friday at a home on the 700 block of Perry Street, near East 7th. Witnesses saw a man firing a handgun outside the residence before he barricaded himself inside, setting off a SWAT standoff that stretched for hours. Officers used a loudspeaker to urge him to surrender. When they finally entered, they found the dead throughout the house. Chief Lorah called it the worst scene of his 28-plus years: "I'm not sure that the city of Erie has ever seen the loss of life and the devastation that we just witnessed."
Governor Josh Shapiro said Saturday he had spoken with Mayor Devlin and offered the state's support. "My heart breaks for this family," he wrote. "Lori and I are praying for their loved ones and the entire Erie community." U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, whose district includes Erie, said he was praying for the community as well.
The investigation continues. Police have not released the victims' names or the shooter's identity, and the motive remains unknown.
