A mass shooting in Erie, Pennsylvania left eight people dead on Friday evening, two of them children, The Washington Post reported, citing local police. The gunman also died.
The names of the victims and the gunman have not been released, nor has a motive been confirmed. The shooting took place at a house in east Erie.
Erie’s police chief, Rick Lorah, said Saturday that seven of the dead were relatives of the shooter, with the eighth a family friend. Those killed included two children, ages 1 and 5, six adults between 19 and 51, and a woman eight months pregnant. The 45-year-old gunman reportedly died by suicide after shooting himself too.
Officers arrived after an automated gunfire-detection system triggered an alert, discovering two women already dead just outside the house, Lorah said. A neighbor’s Ring camera had captured footage of the pair “arriving at the residence appearing distressed.”
Lorah detailed the recording and what it revealed: “They were trying to get neighbors’ attention. They were pounding on the door. We hear what we believe to be, what we assume to be, muffled gunshots in that audio very faintly, a scream and then two shots fired, and that’s where we believe those two outside victims were killed.”
With no movement detected inside, SWAT breached the property and sent in a robot before entering once victims were identified. Four adults and the shooter were found upstairs; the two children were on the ground floor.
A bloodied sheet lies behind police barrier tape at a house where nine people were confirmed dead in what was described as a mass shooting in Erie, Pennsylvania, US, October 10, 2026 (via REUTERS)
Investigators recovered a .40-caliber pistol registered under the suspect’s name, though Lorah avoided naming a motive, instead saying: “I think that mental health is at play here.”
Mayor Daria Devlin told grieving relatives, “I am so deeply sorry. What happened to you was horrific and there is nothing that any of us can say today that will make any of this any easier.”
Lorah had earlier called it “one of the worst situations, if not the worst situation, that I have ever experienced in my 28-plus years as a police officer.”
A joint city and police statement said all deaths occurred before officers arrived, ruling out a standoff, The Washington Post noted. Flash bangs were deployed, but no additional shots were fired.
Governor Josh Shapiro wrote on X, “I’ve spoken with Mayor Devlin and offered my Administration’s full support following the tragic mass shooting in Erie last night – killing nine of our fellow Pennsylvanians,” adding, “My heart breaks for this family.”
Home to roughly 90,000 residents, Erie lies some 117 miles to the north of Pittsburgh.