Nine people died in a mass shooting at a residential home in Erie, Pennsylvania on Friday evening, with the suspected gunman found dead inside from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities announced Saturday.

The 45-year-old suspect killed seven family members and one family friend at the residence on Perry Street in the 700 block, according to Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah. Eight of the nine deceased, including the suspect, were related to one another. Victims ranged in age from 22 months to 44 years old and included a 5-year-old boy, a 22-month-old girl, and a woman who was eight months pregnant.

Police received a ShotSpotter alert at approximately 4:53 p.m. Friday indicating two gunshots had been fired. Officers arrived within three minutes and discovered two women, ages 51 and 37, dead outside the residence. Video evidence from a neighboring home's Ring doorbell camera showed the two women arriving at the house appearing distressed and pounding on the door, seeking assistance from neighbors. The same footage captured what investigators believe were muffled gunshots from inside the home before the suspect emerged and fatally shot both women as they ran toward him, Lorah said. One of the women was a family friend; the other was a sister-in-law of one of the victims. Neither woman lived at the residence.

When officers entered the home after deploying a drone and robot to assess the interior, they found six additional victims inside. A 5-year-old boy and a 22-month-old girl were discovered on the first floor. Four more victims—a 24-year-old woman, a 44-year-old woman, a 19-year-old man, and a 21-year-old man—were found on the second floor and in the stairwell. The suspected gunman was located dead on the second floor from a self-inflicted gunshot wound; a .40-caliber handgun registered to the suspect was recovered on his person. Investigators determined all eight victims were killed and the gunman died by self-inflicted gunshot before officers arrived at the scene.

Lorah clarified that sounds some witnesses may have mistaken for additional gunfire during the police response actually came from flash-bang devices and chemical munitions deployed by SWAT officers. No shots were fired by officers during the response. The police chief described the scene as "the worst I have ever experienced" and called it "horrific," emphasizing the difficulty officers and investigators faced.

Lorah declined to discuss a motive for the shooting but said investigators believe "mental health is at play here." He stated that investigators will examine the cellphones of the two women killed outside the home to determine what they knew when they arrived at the residence. "They knew something was going on at that house," Lorah said. "We have to figure out what that is." The investigation into what precipitated the shooting is ongoing.

Governor Josh Shapiro offered his administration's "full support" to Erie Mayor Daria Devlin and the community. At a campaign rally outside Philadelphia, Shapiro referenced both the Erie shooting and a separate shooting of two Philadelphia police officers that occurred early Saturday. "Today has been a dark day across this commonwealth," he said. District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz urged the public to refrain from speculation during the investigation, asking that people "not allow rumors, speculation or unverified information to add to the pain that these families are already experiencing."