Police: 9 people, including suspect, killed in Erie, PA, mass shooting

Updated Oct. 10, 2026, 1:41 p.m. ET

The 700 block of Perry Street in east Erie was quiet the morning of Oct. 10 outside of the idling engines of Erie police cruisers that continued to hold the area as a crime scene.

More than 12 hours earlier, the neighborhood erupted in chaos as gunshots were fired inside and outside a residence on a street of tightly packed houses.

No more shots were fired after Erie police officers who rushed to the area arrived on scene, tended to two fatally wounded women found outside and surrounded the home, Police Chief Rick Lorah said.

But when officers went in, they found more carnage.

Eight people were fatally shot in what Lorah described as a horrific scene unlike anything he and other officers in the city police force had ever seen. The accused shooter, the man Lorah said a witness had seen shooting the two women outside, was also found dead in the house from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, bringing the total number of dead to nine.

Authorities had not commented as of the late morning Oct. 10 on a possible motive in the shootings or concerning any connection between the suspected gunman and the others killed.

The victim’s names, ages and sexes were not immediately released by Erie police Oct. 10. Lorah said more details, which are expected to include the ages and sexes of the victims, would be released at a news conference scheduled at Erie City Hall at 4 p.m. Oct. 10.

Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said the late morning of Oct. 10 that his office was just starting the process of confirming the identities of the deceased. All but one of them were pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting, and the other person was sent to a hospital and was pronounced dead there, Cook said.

Some of the victims were taken to the Erie County morgue, others were taken to a local funeral home, and one remained at a hospital Oct. 10, Cook said.

The Erie County Coroner’s Office had not ruled on any of the deaths Oct. 10, and it was not known whether autopsies would be performed on any of the people.

Gunshots and carnage

According to city officials, Erie Bureau of Police officers arrived in the 700 block of Perry Street, near East Seventh Street, within minutes of receiving an alert from the city’s ShotSpotter gunshot detection system. Lorah said Oct. 9 that police received a report at 4:52 p.m. of shots fired and of people shot.

Investigators determined that all of the deaths occurred before the officers arrived on scene, according to an Oct. 10 news release from the city. Lorah said previously that no gunshots were fired in the area between the time officers arrived and set up a perimeter around the house and when the Erie Bureau of Police’s SWAT Team cleared the residence.

Sounds heard during the police response which may have been mistaken for gunfire were flash bangs associated with law enforcement’s tactical response, according to information in the city’s news release.

Officials also stressed in the release that the deaths were not the result of any prolonged standoff or delay in police action. The officers had limited information when they arrived on scene, including whether the suspected shooter remained inside or posed an ongoing threat, and they continued assessing the situation and gathering information while seeking a search warrant, according to information in the release.

The first officers to arrive on Perry Street found two women fatally wounded outside the residence with gunshot wounds to the head and face, Lorah said Oct. 9. The other victims were found inside the house, as was the suspected shooter, who was found with a gun and appeared to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the chief said.

No information was immediately released on whether police found any other weapons in the house.

Police were able to identify the shooting suspect through information received from a neighbor, who reported seeing the suspect shooting at the two women who were found outside. The person the neighbor saw matched the description of the man found inside the house, according to Lorah.

Lorah said investigators working the case continue to process the shooting scene for evidence and are still interviewing neighbors and others. Erie County District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz said her office is working with Erie police in the investigation.

City officials said in the news release that they understand residents have questions about the circumstances surrounding the shooting, including the timeline of events, but that additional information would be shared at the afternoon’s news conference.

“In the meantime, we ask our community to exercise care in sharing information. Unverified reports and speculation can deepen the pain experienced by grieving families, create unnecessary fear, and potentially put responding officers and members of the public at risk,” the statement reads.

Officials also stated that anyone who would like to speak with a crisis counselor can do so by contacting Crisis Services at 814-456-2024.

Second multi-victim homicide case

The incident is the second homicide case involving multiple victims in Erie this year.

On March 29, three young children – Tobias Huff, 5; Da’Lilya Huff, 3; and Amirah Al-Mansouri, 5 months – were rescued by Erie firefighters from their burning second-floor apartment at 535½ E. 26th Street, with Tobias and Da’Lilya pronounced dead after they were taken to the hospital, and Amirah dying at a Pittsburgh hospital April 3.

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