'They Knew Something Was Going on at That House': Erie Police Probe Shooting That Left 9 People Dead

Eight members of the same extended family, including two young children and a heavily pregnant woman, were found shot dead in a house in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday 9 October, along with the suspected gunman, police have said.

Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said the suspected gunman, a 45-year-old man related to seven of the eight victims, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Officers responded to the 700 block of Perry Street at about 4.50pm after receiving an alert from the city's ShotSpotter gunshot-detection system. Police said all nine people, including the suspected gunman, were already dead when officers arrived.

Investigators are examining video and audio evidence as they seek to establish what led to the shooting. Police have also said they want to understand what two women who arrived shortly before 5pm may have known about events at the house before they got there.

Final Moments Outside the House

Investigators said video evidence showed two distressed women arriving at the house shortly before 5pm. According to Lorah, the women, described as a sister-in-law and a family friend connected to the household, pounded on the door and tried to get the attention of neighbours.

Lorah said investigators believed the gunman came outside, called to the women and shot them as they ran towards him. The two women, aged 51 and 37, were found dead outdoors.

Lorah said investigators had recovered audio containing muffled sounds consistent with gunfire from inside the home shortly before the women arrived.

Inside the Erie Home

Inside, officers found a 5-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl dead on the first floor. Four more victims, a 24-year-old woman, a 44-year-old woman, a 19-year-old man and a 21-year-old man, were discovered in a second-floor stairwell. Police said one of the women found inside the home was about eight months pregnant.

Lorah said the suspected gunman was found on the second floor and that a .40-calibre handgun registered to him was recovered at the scene. Police have not publicly identified him.

What Investigators Are Focusing On

Investigators are trying to establish what the two women knew about events at the house before they arrived.

'They knew something was going on at that house,' Lorah said. 'We have to figure out what that is.'

He said detectives planned to examine the women's mobile phones, speak again with relatives and witnesses, and review further video evidence as they sought to establish what led to the shooting.

Police have not publicly established whether either woman knew of any danger inside the property before arriving. No motive has been confirmed, and the investigation remains active.

Police Response Under Scrutiny

The police response has drawn scrutiny over the interval between officers' arrival and the SWAT team's entry into the house. Lorah defended the decision to assess the situation before entering, citing the absence of cries for help, visible movement or other signs of activity.

'We did not hear a cry for help. We did not see movement inside,' he said. 'Had any of those been heard, we would have made entry immediately. Those officers were met with an eerie silence when they arrived there.'

Erie officials said sounds heard during the police response that may have been mistaken for gunfire came from flash-bang devices used during the tactical operation. The city said no further shots were fired after officers arrived.

Lorah said officers deployed a drone and robot before the SWAT team entered the house. He said officers obtained a warrant before making entry.

Community and Officials Respond

Erie Mayor Daria Devlin said officials initially withheld some details while relatives were being notified. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he had spoken with Devlin and offered support, describing the incident as a mass shooting.

Lorah, who has served in policing for more than 28 years, described the scale of what officers encountered. 'I have not seen anything like this in my 28-plus years,' he said.

Police said seven of the eight people killed by the gunman were related to him, while the eighth was a family friend. The eight victims ranged in age from 1 to 51.

Police say there is no ongoing threat to the wider community. Investigators have yet to establish what led to the shooting or what the two women knew before they arrived.