Erie police say mental health may be factor in shooting that killed 9

Erie police are investigating mental health issues as they look for a motive in the mass killing in which a 45-year-old suspected gunman killed nine people, eight of whom were related , before killing himself at a residence on Perry Street on Oct. 9 .

"I think mental health is at play here, but I think it is too soon to really go into a motive," Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said at a news conference at City Hall on Oct. 10.

He said police are looking at the mass shooting as "a domestic situation" because eight of those killed were related to one another.

Lorah said the eight people who were killed were relatives and were all living at the house at 722 Perry St. He said the ninth victim was a family friend.

The family friend, a 51-year-old woman, was fatally shot outside the house along with a 37-year-old sister-in-law of one of the deceased, Lorah said.

The other people were killed inside the residence, police said. The Erie County Coroner's Office has yet to release the names of those killed , but Lorah described the people found inside as a 5-year-old boy, a 22-month-old girl, a 24-year-old woman, a 44-year-old woman, a 19-year-old man and a 21-year-old man.

The 24-year-old woman was eight months pregnant, Lorah said. He said the suspected shooter, a 45-year-old man, was found dead inside the house with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Lorah said investigators believe the suspected shooter most likely killed the people inside, went outside and killed the two women, and then went back inside and killed himself.

The shooting was reported to police at about 4:50 p.m. on Oct. 9. Lorah said the city's ShotSpotter gunfire-detection system alerted police to the shooting, and that patrol officers arrived at the scene within minutes and found the two women dead outside. Lorah said the ShotSpotter detected the two gunshots in the killing of the two women.

No gunshots were heard once officers arrived, Lorah said. He said police determined that all nine people were killed by then.

He said investigators reached the conclusion after hearing, on surveillance video, the sound of "muffled gunshots" coming from inside the house before the women were shot outside. Lorah said ShotSpotter "rarely if ever can pick up gunshots inside homes."

The officers who first arrived at the scene "were met with an eerie silence," Lorah said. "No movement. No audible sounds coming from inside the residence. No gunshots. No screams."

Police used drones "to assess conditions within the residence" before SWAT officers broke down multiple doors and entered the house and found those killed inside, according to the city.

2 women shot outside arrived at house in distress, police say

Lorah said investigators are looking into what led the two women killed outside to arrive at the residence. The other woman was a sister-in-law of one of those killed, and Lorah said she and the family friend got to the house in a state of distress, based on surveillance video and interviews with neighbors.

Shapiro, others extend condolences after Erie shooting leaves 9 dead

He said the two women pounded on the front door and sought help from neighbors. The suspected shooter came out of the house and called to them, Lorah said. He said the women ran toward the shooter and he killed them. Lorah also said the women and the shooter spoke to one another before he shot them.

"They must have known that something was going on," Lorah said. "They didn't contact us, so we don't know what that is yet."

He said police would try to gather evidence from the women's cellphones and other sources.

The suspected shooter was found with a .40-caliber handgun on him, Lorah said. He said the gun was registered to the man, and that police believe he was legally allowed to possess it. Lorah said the suspected shooter last had an interaction with the police in 2022, but did not have further information immediately available.

Lorah spoke at the news conference along with Mayor Daria Devlin and Erie County District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz, who said her office is working with the police in its investigation.

Hirz, Lorah and Devlin expressed condolences to the families of those killed. They said the shooting is unlike anything the city has ever seen.

"I want to start by speaking directly to the families who lost loved ones last night. I am so deeply sorry," Devlin said. "What happened was horrific, and I know there is nothing I can say today that will make this any easier. But I want you to know that our entire community is thinking of you, grieving with you, and here to support you."

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@usatodayco.com or 814-870-1813.