Nine dead in Erie mass shooting, including two children and a pregnant woman, as coroner rules homicides and suicide

Nine people died in a mass shooting Friday evening at a home in Erie, Pennsylvania, in what police described as a murder suicide and one of the most disturbing crime scenes the city has ever faced.

The shooting was reported at about 4:52 p.m. Friday at a residence on the 700 block of Perry Street in east Erie. Responding officers found two fatally wounded women outside the home, then entered to find more carnage inside. Eight people were shot dead in total, and the suspected shooter, a 45 year old man, was found dead from what appeared to be a self inflicted gunshot wound, bringing the total to nine.

At a Saturday press conference, Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said eight of the nine dead were related to one another, including the shooter, and the ninth was a family friend. The two women found outside, ages 51 and 37, were a family friend and a sister in law of one of the deceased, killed after the victims inside, police said. One of the victims was eight months pregnant.

Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook ruled the deaths of six adults, two children, and the unborn child as homicides, and the shooter's death as suicide. The coroner's office was still confirming identities on Saturday. All but one victim were pronounced dead at the scene; the other died after being taken to a hospital.

"This is one of the most difficult and heartbreaking scenes that our officers and investigators have ever encountered," Lorah said. "The loss of life is devastating and the circumstances that we are working through are deeply disturbing." He said he had not seen anything like it in more than 28 years on the force, and that explicit details were being withheld out of respect for the victims.