Man kills eight relatives and a family friend, then himself, in Erie, Pennsylvania home

A 45-year-old man killed eight people inside and outside a house on Perry Street in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday afternoon before shooting himself, police said. The dead include a five-year-old boy, a girl under two years old, a 24-year-old woman who was eight months pregnant, and five other adults. Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said eight of the nine people who died were related to the shooter. The ninth was a family friend.

Officers reached the 700 block of Perry Street within minutes of a ShotSpotter alert and 911 calls around 4:55 p.m. They found two women dead in the street outside the house. Inside, on the first floor, they found the two children. Four more bodies lay on the stairwell leading to the second floor: the pregnant 24-year-old woman, a 44-year-old woman, a 19-year-old man and a 21-year-old man. The shooter was found dead on the second floor from an apparent self-inflicted wound. A .40-caliber handgun registered to him was recovered.

Video and audio recovered by investigators show muffled gunshots from inside the house just before the two women arrived, pounded on the door and tried to get help from neighbours. The man then came outside, exchanged words with them and shot them as they ran. He returned inside and killed himself. No shots were fired after police arrived. SWAT used chemical munitions and flash-bangs while securing the building.

Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook ruled the eight deaths, plus the unborn child, as homicides and the shooter's death as suicide. Names have not been released. One relative told local media that his nearly two-year-old daughter, the child's mother, the unborn baby and the five-year-old boy were among those killed. Chief Lorah said mental health appears to be a factor but that it is too early to state a definitive motive. The scene was described by officers as one of the worst they had encountered.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said his heart broke for the family and the Erie community. Mayor Daria Devlin praised the police response and said the situation was contained. The 700 block of Perry Street is a residential neighbourhood of older houses. Neighbours reported hearing shots and seeing the two women in distress before the final shots.

This is among the deadliest mass shootings in Pennsylvania in recent years. Most victims lived in the house. The two women found outside did not. Investigators continue to examine the sequence and any prior warning signs. No other suspects are sought. The house remains a crime scene while forensic work continues.

The shooting occurred on a Friday evening in a working-class section of Erie, a city of roughly 94,000 on Lake Erie. Local hospitals treated no surviving gunshot victims from the incident. Community vigils and counselling services were organised over the weekend. Police have not released the shooter's name pending notification of remaining relatives.

The case fits a pattern of domestic-related killings that account for a large share of multiple-victim firearm deaths in the United States, though the number of children and the presence of a late-term pregnancy make this one particularly severe. Further details on the relationships and any prior police or court contact are expected once the coroner completes identification and the investigation advances.