Mass Shooting in Erie Leaves Eight Dead, Including Two Children and Pregnant Woman

A gunman has fatally shot eight people, including two young children and a heavily pregnant woman, at a home in the US state of Pennsylvania before appearing to take his own life.

Police were summoned to a street in Erie on Friday afternoon after witnesses reported seeing a man firing a weapon before entering a residence, officials said. Two women were discovered dead outside when officers arrived.

The remaining victims were found inside the home alongside the shooter, according to Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah. All but one of those who died were related to each other.

Lorah said a motive had not yet been established, but noted that “mental health is at play here”.

Telling a press conference on Saturday, Lorah revealed that investigators had reviewed video footage showing the two women killed outside the house, aged 51 and 37, arriving and attempting to seek help from neighbors. One was related to the family by marriage, while the other was a family friend.

Lorah said what is believed to be muffled gunfire can be heard in the footage before the gunman is seen emerging and shooting both women.

Authorities arrived afterwards and entered the home after hearing no sounds from inside.

Inside, they found the two child victims, aged five and one, on the first floor. The other victims, two women aged 24 and 44, and two men aged 19 and 21, were found on the second floor and stairwell, as was the gunman. One of the victims was eight months pregnant, Lorah said.

“Some scenes stay with you long after you leave them. This is one of those scenes,” he said.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he had offered his administration’s “full support following the tragic mass shooting in Erie last night – killing nine of our fellow Pennsylvanians”.

“My heart breaks for this family,” he said, adding that he and his wife were “praying for their loved ones and the entire Erie community”.

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