Nine Dead, Including Two Children, After Gunman Opens Fire at Erie, Pennsylvania Home
Police found two women dead in the street outside a home on Perry Street in Erie on Friday evening. A SWAT standoff ended with the gunman dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Nine people are dead, including two children and a pregnant woman, after a gunman opened fire at a home in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday evening. The suspected shooter barricaded himself inside the house during a standoff with police and died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police responded around 5 p.m. local time to 911 calls reporting a shooting at a residence on Perry Street, according to Erie News Now. Witnesses told police they saw a man firing a handgun outside the house. Officers arrived to find two women dead in the street from gunshot wounds.
The gunman went inside the home, prompting a SWAT standoff. Officers surrounded the house and ordered the man to surrender over a loudspeaker, the outlet reported. Police heard more gunshots from inside the home before entering. Inside, officers found more victims dead throughout the house.
Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah told reporters Friday night that the suspect was dead. "The loss of life is devastating, and the circumstances we are working through are deeply disturbing," he said. "There is no ongoing threat to the public." Lorah said investigators would not speculate about a motive, and details of the scene would not be shared out of respect for the victims.
Erie Mayor Daria Devlin called the shooting a terrible tragedy. The victims have not been publicly identified, and the relationship between the gunman and the victims is not yet known.
Police said the investigation continued Saturday. A motive has not been established.
