The City of Erie posted a notice of blight on the property of 722 Perry St. on Oct. 14. This notice gave home owner Tonya Plyler 30 days to correct the property conditions. Plyler later signed over the property to the city.
Nicholas Sorensen/Erie Times-New
USA TODAY Network, Reuters
A house in Erie that was the scene of a mass shooting is now owned by the city and is set to be demolished.
The house at 722 Perry Street was the scene of a mass shooting in which 10 people were found dead on Oct. 9. Police said this is where Matthew Stone Sr., 45, shot his family, one family friend, and then himself.
Five days later, on Oct. 14, the city of Erie posted a notice of blight on the property.
The notice gave homeowner Tonya Plyler, Matthew Stone Sr.’s sister, 30 days to eliminate or correct the conditions causing blight on the property.
The 1,188-square-foot bungalow-style residence, built in 1892, was purchased in January 2010 for $7,000, according to Erie County property records.
City officials confirmed to the Erie Times-News on Oct. 21 that shortly after the blight notice was posted, the city received and processed the paperwork necessary to transfer the ownership of the property to the city. The transfer was completed on Oct. 20.
Plyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a news conference Oct. 15, Erie Mayor Daria Devlin said after the city obtained ownership of the property, emergency funds would be used to demolish the structure.
“We’ve gotten multiple requests from the community,” Devlin said at the news conference. “We can’t let this house stand.”
The conditions inside the residence of Perry Street
At the same news conference, Erie Bureau of Police Chief Rick Lorah described the conditions of the home.
He said windows and doors were boarded up on the exterior, adding that conditions inside the home were concerning.
“Detectives described the home as extremely filthy,” Lorah said at the news conference. “The shower, toilet and kitchen sink did not appear to be working. Numerous 2-liter bottles were filled with urine throughout the house.”
Lorah said that police received prior information that the house was condemned. Police also received reports from Erie Water Works that the water was active in the house, and the account had an outstanding balance of $1,900.
Aaron Snippert, executive director of the Erie Redevelopment Authority, said at the city’s Blighted Property Review Committee meeting Oct. 14 that a notice of violation was issued by code enforcement in 2025 after unsanitary conditions were documented at the property.
“All of this information helped investigators better understand the circumstances inside the home and what the family members had been experiencing,” Lorah said.
When will 722 Perry Street be demolished?
City officials plan to demolish the home as soon as possible.
“We are working to get a contract executed and the demolition completed as soon as possible,” Mary Wassell, media and public relations coordinator for the City of Erie said. “We still have utility disconnections and a few other things to coordinate now that we have ownership, but hopefully it won’t take too long.”
Demolition could bring peace to community
Erie Blue Coats founder Darryl Craig lives near the Perry Street neighborhood, and the Blue Coats office is located at the Erie Center for Arts and Technology at 650 East Avenue.
Craig said that when he worked in Buffalo, New York, he often found that tearing down a structure that was the scene of violence and tragedy brought peace to the area.
“Sometimes tearing down structures like that can alleviate stress and trauma,” Craig said.
Craig said that he and the Blue Coats continue to walk around Perry Street and talk to neighbors.
Craig said neighbors have told him they are tired of the activity surrounding the Perry Street shooting and want to move on with their lives. He believes the demolition of the property will help with that.
“It’s time to bring the neighbors back to the forefront,” Craig said. “People are definitely traumatized.”
Contact Nicholas Sorensen at Nsorensen@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: City of Erie obtains home of mass shooting. Demolition pending
Reporting by Nicholas Sorensen, Erie Times-News / Erie Times-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Twelve days after the mass murder that took place at 722 Perry Street in Erie, the house remains boarded up. The vehicles and majority of the memorial have been removed from the property. The property has been obtained and blighted by the city of Erie. A demolition date is pending. Nicholas Sorensen/Erie Times-New USA TODAY Network, Reuters
Copyright Reuters or USA Today via Reuters Connect
This story was originally published October 22, 2026 at 5:11 AM.