Children, pregnant woman among 8 shot dead in Pennsylvania, suspect was related to victims

The man who killed eight people including a pregnant woman, children at a home in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday night was related to the victims, said police on Saturday. Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said that the 45-year-old man was related to seven of the victims, while the eighth was a friend of the pregnant woman.

Lorah further said that the motive had not yet been established but that "mental health is at play here".

Police were called to the scene after witnesses reported seeing a man firing a gun before he entered a home, officials said. Two women were found dead outside when police arrived, while other victims were found inside the house alongside the gunman.

The bodies of a 5-year-old boy; a 1-year-old girl was found on the first floor of the house by the police. Two more women aged 24 and 44 and two young men aged 19 and 21 were lying dead in a stairwell; and the shooter on the second floor.

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According to preliminary investigation the victims were killed and the suspect died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound before officers arrived at the scene.

“Out of respect for the victims and the families, I will not discuss the details of what our officers encountered inside that home,” said the Erie police chief at a press conference.

“But I want our community to understand the gravity of what happened and the profound impact this tragedy has had on those involved and on our community as a whole," he added.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has offered his administration's "full support following the tragic mass shooting in Erie last night - killing nine of our fellow Pennsylvanians".