ERIE, Pa. — The City of Erie has taken ownership of the home at 722 Perry Street, the scene of a devastating mass shooting that left 10 people dead, and plans to demolish the property by the end of this week.

Family members quickly approved the transfer, allowing the city to move forward with removing the home, which became the site of an unimaginable tragedy on October 9.

Cathryn Easterling, director of the city’s Neighborhood and Economic Development Department, said crews are working to have the utilities disconnected before demolition begins.

“The house will be torn down,” Easterling said. “We’re working right now to get all of the utilities removed. Our thought is that by the end of this week we should have that house demolished.”

The shooting stunned even seasoned police officers and brought the Erie community together in mourning.

According to the police investigation, resident Matthew Stone, 45, killed his wife, children and grandchildren, along with a relative and a family friend who had come to help. Stone then turned the gun on himself. Investigators also described deplorable conditions inside the home.

At a news conference last week, Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said nothing can explain what happened inside that home, but that detectives found the house in extremely poor condition.

“Detectives described the home as extremely filthy,” Chief Lorah said. “The shower, toilet, kitchen sink did not appear to be working. Numerous two-liter bottles were filled with urine throughout the house.”

The transfer of ownership followed action by the city’s Blighted Property Review Committee, which had given property owner Tanya Stone Plyler, the gunman’s sister, 30 days to respond to a blight designation.

After the city sent out the notice late last week, Stone Plyler responded in a matter of days, signing the paperwork to relinquish the property. “Yes, very quick to respond, “Easterling said. “We wanted to be sensitive and understanding, just because of the circumstances of the case. So last week we started working on one identifying the property owner, as well as understanding if they were willing to sign over the property over to us. So we were able to do that. The notice of blight was sent at the end of last week, and we just completed the transfer yesterday.”

While demolition is the immediate priority, the property’s long-term future remains undecided.

Easterling said the city has heard community suggestions that the site could become a memorial, but no plans have been finalized.

“We’ve been hearing a lot about whether it should be a memorial or something else, but there haven’t been any plans about what’s next, it’s just more about wanting to have it demolished — to make sure that we have that taken care of,” she said.

After the house is removed, the city intends to allow time for the family and surrounding neighborhood to process the loss before considering what should happen to the property, but seeking community input will be part of the process.