A mass shooting in Erie, Pennsylvania on Friday claimed eight lives before the gunman took his own life, leaving a community in shock and a family devastated. Julius Windham, whose 1-year-old daughter Amarianna was among the victims, stood at a memorial on Sunday and described the shooter as a family patriarch who appeared outwardly calm and ordinary. "I think that was a front for him," Windham said. "Him every day, him smiling and being just — you would think of nothing like that would happen."
The 45-year-old shooter opened fire in a home shortly before 5 p.m. on Friday. According to Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah, the gunman was related to seven of the eight victims. The eighth victim was identified as a friend of the pregnant woman who was killed. Among those slain were Windham's daughter Amarianna, her pregnant mother, the woman's 5-year-old son, and an unborn child. Police have not released the identities of the victims or the shooter, citing respect for the families affected.
Investigators recovered video and audio evidence from the scene that provided a grim account of the shooting's progression. Lorah reported that audio captured muffled gunshot sounds from inside the home before two women arrived at the house and began pounding on the door in apparent distress. The gunman then emerged and fired at the women as they ran toward him before returning inside. Officers responding to the scene found the two women dead outside the home. After deploying a drone and robot to assess the interior, officers discovered the body of the 5-year-old boy and 1-year-old girl on the first floor, two more women and two young men in a stairwell, and the shooter on the second floor. "Out of respect for the victims and the families, I will not discuss the details of what our officers encountered inside that home," Lorah said at a news conference.
Investigators are still working to understand what triggered the violence. Lorah declined to discuss a specific motive but indicated that mental health could be a contributing factor. He said authorities would interview relatives and examine the cellphones of the two women who were killed outside the home. "They knew something was going on at that house," Lorah said. "We have to figure out what that is." The investigation appears to be examining whether family members had prior knowledge of an escalating situation.
Friends and acquaintances of the family expressed shock at the tragedy. Nicole and Debra Eller, who said they have known the family for more than 30 years, described the shooter as someone who "was a good guy, and then he started going downhill with everything." They characterized the family as "lovely" and expressed disbelief that such violence could occur. "This should have never happened to her or the kids or anybody," Debra Eller said.
Erie, located approximately 120 miles north of Pittsburgh, held memorials on Sunday as mourners placed candles, flowers, and stuffed animals outside the home where the shooting occurred. Windham wore a T-shirt bearing pictures of the slain women and children with the words "Forever In My Heart." Addressing the community's profound grief, he said: "Words can't even explain what I'm going through right now. But I gotta be strong for my community, you know what I'm saying? My family, my daughters, my sons, everybody."
At a news conference on Saturday, Erie Mayor Daria Devlin expressed condolences directly to the victims' families. "I am so deeply sorry," Devlin said. "What happened to you was horrific, and there is nothing that any of us can say today that will make this any easier. Our entire community is with you, we're grieving with you. And we are here to support you." The shooting has drawn historical parallels to a 1982 massacre in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in which a man killed 13 people, including five of his own children.
