Pennsylvania Gunman Identified as Family Patriarch in Mass Shooting
Police are investigating the motive behind a shooting that left eight people dead, including seven relatives, before the gunman took his own life.
A man who killed eight people, seven of them his relatives, in Erie, Pennsylvania, before dying by suicide, has been identified as the family's patriarch. The gunman's identity has not been released by authorities, but Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah stated that he was related to seven of the eight victims. The eighth victim was a friend of one of the women killed.
Julius Windham, whose 1-year-old daughter Amarianna was among the victims, described the gunman as someone who appeared normal and never seemed distressed. "Him every day, him smiling and being just — you would think of nothing like that would happen," Windham said, standing at a memorial for the victims. "I think that was a front for him."
The shooting occurred Friday evening. Responding officers discovered the bodies of the two women outside the residence. Subsequent investigation inside the home revealed the bodies of a 5-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl on the first floor, along with two other women and two young men in a stairwell. The gunman was found deceased on the second floor.
Erie Mayor Daria Devlin expressed deep sympathy for the families affected by the tragedy. "I am so deeply sorry," Devlin said at a Saturday news conference. "What happened to you was horrific, and there is nothing that any of us can say today that will make this any easier. … Our entire community is with you, we’re grieving with you. And we are here to support you."
Investigators are working to determine the motive behind the killings. Chief Lorah indicated that mental health might be a factor and that authorities would examine the cellphones of the women killed outside the home. "They knew something was going on at that house," Lorah said. "We have to figure out what that is."
Friends of the family, Nicole and Debra Eller, stated that the shooter had a history of personal decline. "They were a lovely family. Who would have thought this would ever happen?" Debra Eller remarked. "Oh my gosh, this is so upsetting. This should have never happened to her or the kids or anybody. His grandchildren, his kids, how can you do that?"