Authorities have identified everyone killed in a horrific Pennsylvania mass shooting in which a grandfather murdered members of his family before taking his own life.
Six adults, two children and an unborn baby died Friday after Matthew Stone Sr, 45, opened fire inside his family’s Erie home and then killed himself, according to the coroner’s office.
Stone Sr killed his wife, Michelle Stone, 44; their sons, Jonathan Stone, 19, and Matthew Stone Jr, 21; and his pregnant 24-year-old daughter, Angelina Stone.
Angelina’s unborn child, Kyrie, was due Wednesday. Her two other young children, five-year-old Isaiah and Amari’anna, who was nearly two, were also killed in the shooting, according to her grieving family’s GoFundMe page.
Amari’anna’s father, Juicesiyah Alexander Ezekiel, who is also known as Julius Windham, told Erie News Now: “I wouldn’t even put this on my worst enemy. It’s sickening.”
Michelle’s sister, Lora Roberts, 37, and family friend Twila Tanner, 51, were also killed while reportedly trying to protect the children, according to their respective fundraiser pages.
The coroner classified Stone Sr’s death as a suicide and ruled that the other deaths were homicides.
The Erie Times-News reported that everyone except Roberts was pronounced dead at the scene.
Matthew Stone Sr, 45, opened fire inside his family’s Erie home before taking his own life, according to the coroner’s office
Stone Sr killed his pregnant 24-year-old daughter, Angelina Stone, her unborn child Kyrie, who was due Wednesday, and her two young children, five-year-old Isaiah and Amari’anna
Stone Sr killed his wife, Michelle Stone, 44, and sons Matthew Stone Jr, 21, pictured, and Jonathan Stone, 19
Roberts was taken to a local hospital but later died from her injuries.
Speaking at a vigil outside the home Sunday, Ezekiel said Stone Sr had never appeared distressed or behaved unusually.
“I think that was a front for him. Him every day, him smiling and being just—you would think nothing like that would happen,” he said.
“It was my baby, bro, and he just took her. Her name was Amari’anna. She was the most beautiful baby God could have created.”
Erie police were dispatched after a ShotSpotter alert reported two gunshots on the street where the deadly attack occurred, the department said.
Investigators recovered video and audio that captured muffled gunshots from inside the house, followed moments later by two “distressed” women arriving and pounding on the door, Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said.
The gunman emerged and shot at the women as they ran toward him, then went back inside the house.
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Officers found the two women dead outside. After deploying a drone and a robot, police entered the home and discovered the five-year-old boy and one-year-old girl on the first floor, two women and two young men in a stairwell, and the shooter on the second floor.
Michelle’s sister, Lora Roberts, left, 37, and family friend Twila Tanner, right, 51, were killed while reportedly trying to protect the children
Juicesiyah Alexander Ezekiel (left), who also goes by Julius Windham, said Sunday at a vigil outside of the home that Stone Sr never seemed distressed or out of the ordinary
Lorah declined to discuss motive but suggested mental health could be a factor. He said investigators would talk to relatives and examine the cellphones of the 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.’
Lorah also noted that Stone Sr does have a history of prior interactions with the police department, although the last interaction is believed to have been in 2022.
A GoFundMe for Tanner said: ‘On October 9th in Erie, Pennsylvania, Twila Tanner tragically lost her life while bravely trying to help a friend protect her family from a violent and dangerous individual. In a moment of courage and selflessness, Twila put herself in harm’s way to help others.’
Kellie Eggleston created another donation page in memory of Roberts.
Eggleston’s fiancé, Adam Posland, shared the donation page on Facebook, stating that Roberts ‘gave her life trying to save another.’
Roberts is remembered as a loving mother of five children and as being engaged to her fiancé of 14 years, Jeremy, according to her fundraiser.
Family friends Nicole and Debra Eller said Roberts frequently went to the house to help during Angelina’s pregnancy.
Nicole said that Stone Sr ‘was a good guy, and then he started going downhill with everything.’
‘They were a lovely family. Who would have thought this would ever happen?’ Debra added.
‘Oh my gosh, this is so upsetting. This should have never happened to her or the kids or anybody. His grandchildren, his kids- how can you do that?’
At a news conference on Saturday, Erie Mayor Daria Devlin addressed a portion of her remarks 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.’