Gunman shoots dead 7 relatives, family friend in Pennsylvania
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The victims in the city of Erie included two young children and a woman who was eight months pregnant.
PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO
- Eight people, including two children, were killed at a home in Erie, Pennsylvania, local media reported. Police said the shooter was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
- Officers were called after shots were reported on 9 October and found two women dead in the street. The gunman then barricaded himself inside as police surrounded the home and heard more gunshots.
- Erie News Now said police were being offered counselling after the horrifying incident. The case adds to the wider problem of frequent mass shootings in the US and the struggle over gun control.
AI generated
NEW YORK – A 45-year-old man shot and killed seven relatives and a family friend at a home in Pennsylvania before apparently taking his own life, police said on Oct 10.
The victims in the city of Erie included two young children and a woman who was eight months pregnant.
Police responded on the evening of Oct 9 to reports of shots fired and found two women dead in the street, Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah told reporters.
Video evidence showed the pair arriving at the residence appearing distressed, then attempting to contact neighbours and enter the house, Lorah said.
The gunman came out of the house, shot them and went back inside, he said.
The man barricaded himself inside the house as police surrounded the building and ordered him to exit. He was later found inside with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Lorah said.
The shooter and seven of his victims were related, Lorah said. The eighth victim was a family friend.
Dead inside the home were a five-year-old boy and a one-year-old girl. The others were men and women ranging in age from 19 to 51. One of the women was eight months pregnant.
News outlet Erie News Now said responding officers were being offered counselling over the horrifying incident.
“Many people across our community are hurting today: the neighbours who witnessed what happened, the families and friends of those who were killed, the officers and first responders who answered these calls, and others struggling to make sense of something so terrible,” Erie mayor Daria Devlin told reporters.
“We cannot undo what happened and we cannot take away the grief that these families are carrying, but we can make sure that they don’t have to carry it alone,” she said.
Mass shootings occur frequently in the US, where guns vastly outnumber people and efforts to increase firearm restrictions face steep political and legal hurdles. AFP