Erie, Pa (WJET/WFXP)– As a family, a neighborhood, and the City of Erie just begins to start the grieving process, officials and investigators are just beginning to put together what led to this unspeakable tragedy.
On Saturday, Erie’s mayor, police chief and the Erie County District Attorney provided an update.
722 Perry Street, just before 5 pm Friday evening. They found two women shot to death outside. Police Chief Rick Lorah said video evidence showed the women arriving, appearing distressed and looking for help from neighbors, pounding on a door.
“The audio/video also appears to capture muffled gunfire inside the residence before the suspect emerged and fatally shot both women,” Chief Lorah said.
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According to Lorah, the victims inside the home, including two young children, were killed and the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound before police surrounded the house.
“When we arrived on scene, we did not hear a gunshot. We did not hear a cry for help. We did not see movement inside. Had any of those been heard, we would have made entry immediately. Those officers were met with an eerie silence when they got there,” he explained.
Lorah said the victims were eight members of the same family and a family friend. The two women found outside were 51 and 37 years old. The victims inside: a 22-month-old girl, a five-year-old boy, a 19-year-old man, a 21-year-old man, a 24-year-old woman and a 44-year-old woman.
The suspect was identified as a 45-year-old man. Officials said it’s too early to talk about a motive.
“Many people across our community are hurting today. The neighbors who witnessed what happened, the family and friends of those who were killed, the officers and first responders who answered this call and others struggling to make sense of something so terrible,” Erie Mayor Daria Devlin said.
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During the briefing, it was revealed a 40 caliber handgun was recovered that was registered to the gunman. There was also another plea to the public to let the investigation and official information tell the story.
“Sharing unconfirmed reports and spreading rumors before the facts are determined does not advance the investigation,” Erie County District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz said.
Since Friday night, investigators have stressed there is no added danger to the Erie community. However, it willl almost certainly take that same community a long time to recover.