Nine Dead in Erie, Pennsylvania Family Shooting Including Children and Pregnant Woman

A 45-year-old man shot and killed eight people, including two children and a pregnant woman, at a residence on Perry Street in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday, 9 October 2026, before killing himself. Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said eight of the dead were related to one another and to the shooter; the ninth was a family friend. The total death count reached nine.

Officers responded shortly before 5 p.m. after a ShotSpotter alert and reports of a man firing outside the home. They found two women dead in the street. After deploying a drone and robot, they entered and found the remaining victims inside. A 5-year-old boy and a 22-month-old girl were on the first floor. A 24-year-old woman who was eight months pregnant, a 44-year-old woman, a 19-year-old man and a 21-year-old man were in a second-floor stairwell. The shooter was found dead on the second floor with a self-inflicted wound and a firearm registered to him.

Video recovered by investigators showed muffled shots from inside before the two women arrived in distress, pounded on the door and tried to alert neighbours. The gunman came out, shot them as they ran, then returned inside. Lorah said investigators believe he killed the people inside first, then the two women outside, then himself. No shots were fired after police arrived. The scene was described by veteran officers as the worst they had seen.

The Erie County coroner ruled the eight killings as homicides and the shooter’s death as suicide. Names have not yet been released while next of kin are notified. Lorah said it is too early to establish a full motive but that mental health appears to have been a factor. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said his heart breaks for the family. Mayor Daria Devlin praised the police response and confirmed the situation was contained with no ongoing threat.

The incident is one of the deadliest mass shootings in the region in recent years. It unfolded in a residential neighbourhood roughly a mile from downtown. Police continue to examine the relationships among the victims and any prior mental-health contacts. Family members have begun to speak publicly about the losses, including a father who identified his nearly two-year-old daughter among the dead.

The immediate consequence is the loss of an extended family in a single evening and a community confronting the scale of the violence. Investigators have not released a timeline of any warning signs that preceded the attack.