5 questions about the Erie, Pennsylvania, shooting

1. What happened in Erie?

A 45-year-old man killed eight people, including a pregnant woman and two young children, at his home Friday before taking his own life, authorities said Saturday. Two women arrived at the house shortly before 5 p.m. and began pounding on the door, and the gunman came out and shot them as they ran toward him before returning inside.

2. Who were the victims?

Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said the shooter was related to seven of the victims, while the eighth was a friend of the pregnant woman. Officers found the bodies of two women outside, and inside the home they found a 5-year-old boy, a 1-year-old girl, two more women and two young men.

3. Why did he do it?

Lorah declined to discuss a motive. He said investigators would talk to other relatives and examine the cellphones of the women killed outside the home, adding, “They knew something was going on at that house.”

4. How did police respond?

Officers arrived within minutes of an alert from ShotSpotter, a controversial gunshot detection system that uses artificial intelligence and microphones to identify gunshots. Lorah said no additional shots were fired after that, and that sounds possibly mistaken for gunfire came from flashbang devices used by SWAT officers.

5. What happens next?

The investigation is continuing, and District Attorney Elizabeth Hirz urged the public not to spread rumors or unverified information. Gov. Josh Shapiro offered his administration’s “full support” to Erie Mayor Daria Devlin, who told the victims’ families the community is grieving with them and will support them.

For more on this report, read “Shooting leaves 9 dead including suspect in Erie, Pennsylvania, police say” from The Associated Press, published on The Washington Times.