Pennsylvania Grandfather Allegedly Kills Eight, Including Children and Pregnant Woman, Before Dying by Suicide

A 45-year-old Pennsylvania grandfather allegedly killed eight people, including children and a pregnant woman, inside and outside an Erie home before taking his own life, authorities said.

“It was horrific,” Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said during a news conference on Oct. 10. “It was the worst scene I have ever experienced.”

Police were alerted to possible gunfire in the 700 block of Perry Street by a ShotSpotter notification at about 4:53 p.m. on Oct. 9, Lorah said. When officers arrived, they found two women—a 51-year-old and a 37-year-old—dead outside the residence.

The officers encountered an unsettling lack of activity at the home. “When we arrived on scene, we did not hear a gunshot. We did not hear a cry for help. We did not see movement inside,” Lorah said. He explained that police would have entered immediately if they had heard any signs of life, but instead were met by “an eerie silence.”

Once the property was secured, investigators entered and discovered seven additional bodies. On the first floor were a 5-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl, according to Lorah. Four other victims—a 44-year-old woman, a 24-year-old woman, a 21-year-old man and a 19-year-old man—were found in a second-floor stairwell. Authorities said one of the women was eight months pregnant.

The suspected gunman was found dead on the second floor from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police recovered a firearm “on his person,” Lorah said.

Authorities said the suspected shooter and seven of the victims belonged to the same family. The remaining person killed was described as a family friend.

Investigators later reviewed surveillance video and audio from the scene. The material appeared to show two women in distress, knocking on a neighbor’s door and seeking help, before muffled gunshots were heard inside the home. Police said the suspect then exited, called the women toward him and shot them outside.

“They knew something was going on at that house,” Lorah said. Investigators plan to examine cellphone records, speak with relatives and conduct additional interviews with witnesses as they work to understand what led to the Erie family shooting.

Lorah cautioned that it was still “too soon to really go into a motive,” but said he believed mental health issues were involved.

Family Member Identifies Suspected Pennsylvania Shooter as “Smiling” Grandfather

Although police had not publicly released the names of the victims or the suspected shooter, Julius Windham told The Associated Press that his 1-year-old daughter, Amarianna, and her pregnant mother were among those killed inside the house.

Windham described the suspected shooter as the family patriarch and grandfather, saying the man’s behavior had seemed ordinary before the massacre.

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“Every day, him smiling and being just—you would think of nothing like that would happen,” Windham told the AP. He added that the apparent normalcy may have been “a front for him.”

YourErie.com likewise reported that the alleged gunman was the family’s grandfather.

On Oct. 11, Windham joined mourners outside the home, where people left flowers, stuffed animals and candles in memory of those who died.

Wearing a “Forever in My Heart” shirt featuring photographs of the women and children killed, Windham said he was struggling to process the tragedy. “Words can’t even explain what I’m going through right now,” he told the AP. “But I gotta be strong for my community, you know what I’m saying? My family, my daughters, my sons, everybody.”

Nicole Eller, who told the AP that she lost her best friend in the shooting, remembered the alleged gunman as a “good guy” who had recently “started going down hill.”

“They were a lovely family,” Debra Eller said. “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?”

An online fundraiser identified one of the women killed outside the residence as Lora Roberts, a mother of five and a “devoted fiancée” who was described as a friend to many people.

Roberts’ family said she was killed while trying to rescue her niece from the home. A separate fundraiser for Twila Tanner, a family friend, said Roberts and Tanner were rushing toward the residence together when both women were fatally shot.

“Twila Tanner, tragically lost her life while bravely trying to help a friend protect her family from a violent and dangerous individual,” organizers wrote. “In a moment of courage and selflessness, Twila put herself in harm’s way to help others.”

Tanner was described as a loving mother and grandmother.

Police have said the investigation into the tragic incident remains ongoing.