Erie, Pennsylvania, Police Chief Rick Lorah said on Saturday that a 45-year-old grandfather opened fire in a home shortly before 5 p.m. Friday, killing eight people before taking his own life. The gunman was related to seven of the eight victims; the eighth was a friend of a pregnant woman among those killed, Lorah said.

The gunman’s name has not been publicly released, and Lorah said police have not released the victims’ names either. “Out of respect for the victims and the families, I will not discuss the details of what our officers encountered inside that home,” Lorah said. He added: “I want our community to understand the gravity of what happened and the profound impact this tragedy has had on those involved and on our community as a whole.”

Julius Windham, the father of one of those killed, told the Associated Press on Sunday during a memorial that the man had never seemed distressed. “I think that was a front for him,” Windham said. “Him every day, him smiling and being just – you would think of nothing like that would happen.” Windham identified his 1-year-old daughter, Amarianna, her pregnant mother, the woman’s 5-year-old son and the woman’s unborn baby as among the dead. “Words can’t even explain what I’m going through right now,” Windham said. “But I gotta be strong for my community, you know what I’m saying? My family, my daughters, my sons, everybody.”

Mourners on Sunday placed candles, flowers and stuffed animals outside the home. Windham wore a T-shirt with pictures of the slain woman and children and the words “Forever in my heart.”

A family friend told Cleveland 19 News that the grief extended beyond the immediate family. “We don’t want that dark memory to be what defines their lives in this world,” the friend said. “How do you even fathom something like this? How will you go home and tell your kids: ‘Hey, your mom, your siblings, your uncles and everybody else just got murdered by your grandpa?’”

Nicole and Debra Eller, longtime friends of the family, told the Associated Press they have known them for more than 30 years. “He was a good guy, and then he started going downhill with everything,” Nicole Eller said of the shooter. “They were a lovely family,” Debra Eller said. “Who would have thought this would ever happen? Oh my gosh, this is so upsetting. This should have never happened to her or the kids or anybody. His grandchildren, his kids, how can you do that?”

Video and audio evidence recovered by investigators showed muffled gunshot sounds coming from inside the home just before two “distressed” women arrived and began pounding on the door, Lorah said. The gunman then came out and shot them before returning inside. Responding officers found the two women dead outside. A drone and robot were deployed before officers entered the home, where they found the bodies of a 5-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl on the first floor, two women and two young men in a stairwell, and the shooter on the second floor.

Lorah declined to discuss motive but suggested mental health could be a factor. He said investigators were examining the cellphones of the women who were killed outside the home and planned to interview relatives. “They knew something was going on at that house,” Lorah said. “We have to figure out what that is.”

Erie Mayor Daria Devlin addressed the victims’ families at a Saturday news conference: “I am so deeply sorry. What happened to you was horrific, and there is nothing that any of us can say today that will make this any easier … Our entire community is with you, we’re grieving with you. And we are here to support you.”

“My heart breaks for this family. Lori and I are praying for their loved ones and the entire Erie community,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said in a post on X on Saturday.

The Guardian noted the Erie shooting was reminiscent of a 1982 massacre in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in which a man killed 13 people, including five of his own children. Erie is about 120 miles north of Pittsburgh.