Multiple people are dead, including children, after a shooting Friday night in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Authorities say the suspected shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Local media and CNN reported that nine people were dead, including the gunman. Police have not confirmed the number of people killed.
WJET, a local television station, reported that police were called to the city’s East Side just before 5 p.m. after gunfire rang out.
Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said the number of lives lost on the 700 block of Perry Street was not only devastating but that the crime scene was by far the worst one he has ever seen in his law enforcement career.
“This is one of the most difficult and heartbreaking scenes our officers and investigators have ever encountered,” he said. “The loss of life is devastating, and the circumstances we are working through are deeply disturbing.”
Reports from Erie
The first reports made to police were of two women who had been shot outside a home on Perry Street.
According to WJET, witnesses then told police the gunman ran into a nearby house.
Erie police and a SWAT team surrounded the home, Erie News Now reported, and ordered the man to surrender. The outlet reported that additional gunshots were heard during the standoff.
Officers forced their way inside after securing a warrant, according to WJET.
Sources told local media that once inside, police found multiple bodies, including the bodies of two small children, in different areas of the home.
“Our hearts are with the victims, their families and everyone affected by this tragedy. There are no words that can be adequately expressed the magnitude of the loss of life here,” Lorah said.
‘Horrific scene’
”It’s a horrific scene,” Lorah said. “There was a large loss of life inside that residence and outside that residence.”
Lorah went on to say, “I can’t confirm or deny the amount of individuals that were involved here. I can tell you that this is a tragic, tragic situation.”
Lorah told WJET the suspect is dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
An investigation into what led to the shooting is ongoing. It is unclear whether any of the victims and the shooter knew each other.
Erie is a city of 94,831 people on the shore of Lake Erie. It is about 80 miles from Buffalo, 90 miles from Cleveland, and 120 miles from Pittsburgh.