Wednesday, December 15, 2021
A 45-year-old man killed eight people, including two young children and a pregnant woman, at and outside his Erie, Pennsylvania home on Friday before taking his own life.
A gunman killed eight people at and outside a home in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday afternoon, October 9. Police say the victims were a 1-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy, a pregnant woman, three other women and two young men. The shooter was a 45-year-old man. He was found dead inside the home with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police say he was related to seven of the people he killed, and the eighth was a friend of the pregnant woman.
Officers reached the home near 7th and Perry Streets within minutes of a ShotSpotter gunshot alert just before 5 p.m. Police accounts reported by CBS Pittsburgh and the Boston Globe describe muffled shots inside the house first. Two women then arrived and knocked at the door. The gunman stepped outside, shot them, and went back in. A SWAT team entered after getting a warrant and found the others on the first floor and in a stairwell. Police say every death happened before officers arrived, and no officer fired a shot. The bangs neighbors heard later came from the tactical team's flash-bang devices.
Police Chief Rick Lorah called it the most heartbreaking case of his nearly three-decade career. He said there is no ongoing threat to the community and that it is too soon to discuss a motive. Investigators plan to interview other relatives and review the phones of the two women killed outside. Early reports gave both eight and nine deaths because some counts included the shooter. These figures are as of Saturday, and details may still change as the investigation continues. Gov. Josh Shapiro and Erie Mayor Daria Devlin have offered support to the family and the city.
Shootings in public places draw the most attention. Researchers who track mass killings have found that many happen inside a home, among people who know each other. That puts the warning signs at home in focus. Threats to hurt family members, escalating or controlling behavior, and sudden access to a gun during a personal crisis are all reasons to get help early. The National Domestic Violence Hotline answers around the clock at 1-800-799-7233, or you can text START to 88788. If someone talks seriously about hurting the people around them, tell local police.
Neighbors face a different choice when shots ring out nearby. Get inside, move away from windows and doors, and put an interior wall between your family and the street. Call 911 with the exact address and what you heard. Stay put until police say the scene is clear, and leave the approach to the house to responders. The run, hide, fight sequence that protects people in a store or school also guides a family at home. Each step is laid out in our guide to surviving an active shooter.
Where it stands now: the investigation is ongoing, and police have not released names or a motive. The wider trend behind this year's attacks is tracked in mass shootings in 2026. Save the hotline number in your phone this week. Then pick the interior room your family would use if you ever heard gunfire outside. Be Prepared Not Scared!
