Gunman Who Killed 8 in Penn. Mass Shooting Was Grandfather of Family, 1-Year-Old Victim’s Father Says
Julius Windham outside the home in Erie, Penn., on Oct. 11, 2026Credit: AP Photo/Ted ShaffreyJulius Windham, whose daughter Amari’anna was killed during the incident, said her grandfather’s behavior never seemed out of the ordinary to him
The gunman who killed eight people, including two children and a pregnant woman, in an Erie, Penn. home on Friday, Oct. 9, was the children’s grandfather, the father of one victim said
Julius Windham, whose 1-year-old daughter Amari’anna was killed during the incident, said the gunman’s behavior had never seemed out of the ordinary to him
Police confirmed the shooter, who died by suicide, was related to seven of the eight victims, with the other being a family friend
The father of a 1-year-old girl killed in a mass shooting in Erie, Penn., on Friday, Oct. 9, has said the shooter was her grandfather.
Eight people, including two children and a pregnant woman who was days away from giving birth, were fatally shot at a home in the city, around 120 miles north of Pittsburgh, on Friday afternoon. Police had responded to 911 calls at about 5 p.m. local time.
The gunman, 45, died by suicide. Authorities have not released his name, but Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said at a press conference on Saturday, Oct. 10, that he was related to seven of the victims, with the eighth being a friend of the pregnant woman.
Angelina Stone (right)Credit: gofundme
Julius Windham told the that his daughter Amari’anna, her mother Angelina Stone, Stone’s 5-year-old son Isiah and her unborn baby Kyrie all died in the shooting. He said he never considered the children’s grandfather’s behavior to be out of the ordinary.
“I think that was a front for him,” Windham said at a memorial for the victims on Sunday, Oct. 11. “Him every day, him smiling — you would think nothing like that would happen.”
Wearing a T-shirt with the words, “Forever In My Heart” and pictures of the deceased on it, Windham continued, “Words can’t even explain what I’m going through right now. But I gotta be strong for my community, you know what I’m saying? My family, my daughters, my sons, everybody.”
Nicole and Debra Eller, whose best friend died in the shooting, said they’d known the family for more than three decades and described the shooter as a “good guy” who “started going downhill.”
“They were a lovely family. Who would have thought this would ever happen?” Debra told the AP. “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?”
A police officer questions neighbors outside the Erie, Penn. property on Oct. 10, 2026Credit: Jeff Swensen/Getty
Video and audio evidence recovered by authorities captured muffled gunshots from inside the home shortly before two “distressed” women arrived and began thumping on the door, Lorah said in the press conference.
The gunman then came outside and shot them as they ran toward him before returning to the house, he explained.
Police officers outside the Erie, Penn. home on Oct. 10, 2026Credit: Jeff Swensen/Getty
Officers found the two women dead outside the home. Inside, they found the bodies of the two children on the first floor, two women and two young men in a stairwell and the gunman on the second floor, Lorah said.
Police have not publicly established a motive. Lorah confirmed that investigators would speak to relatives and take a look at the cellphones of the two women killed outside.
“They knew something was going on at that house,” he said. “We have to figure out what that is.”
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Windham’s sister, Aaliyah Williams, started a GoFundMe to help cover funeral arrangements for Stone, Isiah, Amari’anna and Kyrie.
“Our family is facing the painful task of laying them to rest,” she wrote. “This is more than our family can carry alone right now, and we truly need the community to rally around us.”
PEOPLE has reached out to the City of Erie Police Department for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
Source: Crime
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