In Pennsylvania, a man killed eight relatives — children and a pregnant woman among the victims
Kyiv • UNN
In the city of Erie, a man shot eight people, including children and a pregnant woman, and then took his own life. Police are investigating the motive.
In the city of Erie, Pennsylvania, a man killed eight people—including a pregnant woman, children, and other relatives—in their home, then committed suicide, UNN reports, citing the AP.
Erie Police Chief Rick Lora said the 45-year-old man was related to seven of the eight victims of the shooting that took place the previous day; the eighth victim was a friend of the pregnant woman.
According to the police chief, video and audio recordings obtained by investigators captured muffled sounds of gunshots from inside the house just before two distressed women approached it and began banging on the door (this happened shortly before 5:00 p.m. on Friday). The shooter came outside and shot them as they ran toward him, then returned to the house.
When police arrived at the scene, they found the bodies of two women outside. Using a drone and a robot, law enforcement entered the house and found the bodies of a 5-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl (on the first floor), two more women and two young men (on the staircase), as well as the shooter himself (on the second floor).
"Out of respect for the victims and their families, I will not discuss the details of what our officers saw inside the house," the police chief said at a news conference. "But I want our community to understand the seriousness of what happened and the profound impact of this tragedy both on those directly involved in the incident and on our community as a whole."
Lora declined to discuss the motive for the crime but said investigators would speak with other relatives and examine the mobile phones of the women killed outside the house.
"They knew something was happening in this house," he said. "We need to find out exactly what."
Lora said police arrived within minutes of receiving an alert from ShotSpotter—a controversial gunshot-detection system that uses artificial intelligence and a network of microphones to identify the sounds of gunfire. No more shots were heard afterward.
"The sounds that could have been mistaken for gunshots actually came from flash-bang grenades—chemical special-purpose devices—used by SWAT officers," he explained. Governor Josh Shapiro said he had offered the "full support" of his administration to Erie Mayor Daria Devlin, who personally addressed the victims' families during the news conference.
"I am deeply sorry. What happened to you is horrific, and none of us can say anything today that would ease your pain," she said. "But you must know this: our entire community is with you; we grieve with you. And we are here to support you."
District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz urged the public to refrain from speculation while the investigation is ongoing.
"Please do not allow rumors, conjecture, or unverified information to compound the pain these families are already enduring," she said.
The city of Erie is located approximately 120 miles (190 kilometers) north of Pittsburgh.
Speaking at a campaign rally near Philadelphia, Shapiro mentioned both the killings in Erie and the shooting in which two Philadelphia police officers were injured early Saturday morning.
"Today has been a dark day for our entire state," he said.
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