Daijiworld Media Network - Erie

Erie, Oct 12: The father of a one-year-old girl killed in a mass shooting that claimed eight lives in Erie, Pennsylvania, has said the gunman never appeared distressed or behaved unusually, leaving the family and community struggling to understand the tragedy.

Julius Windham’s daughter, Amarianna, was among those killed in Friday’s shooting. The victims also included the child’s pregnant mother, her five-year-old son and her unborn baby.

Windham said the 45-year-old gunman, who later died by suicide, appeared cheerful in his everyday interactions, making the violence difficult to comprehend.

“I think that was a front for him,” Windham said on Sunday while standing at a memorial for the victims. He recalled that the man would smile and behave normally, giving no indication that such an incident could occur.

Authorities have not publicly identified the shooter or the victims. Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said the gunman was related to seven of the eight victims, while the eighth was a friend of the pregnant woman.

On Sunday, mourners gathered outside the house where the shooting took place shortly before 5 pm on Friday. They left candles, flowers and stuffed animals in memory of the victims. Windham wore a T-shirt featuring photographs of the women and children, along with the words, “Forever In My Heart.”

Speaking about his grief, Windham said he was struggling to find words to describe his pain but wanted to remain strong for his community and family.

According to Lorah, video and audio evidence recovered by investigators included muffled gunshot sounds from inside the house shortly before two distressed women arrived and began pounding on the door. The gunman then came outside and shot the women as they ran towards him before returning inside.

Responding officers found the two women dead outside the house. After deploying a drone and a robot, police entered the building and discovered the bodies of the five-year-old boy and one-year-old girl on the first floor. Two additional women and two young men were found in a stairwell, while the shooter’s body was located on the second floor.

Lorah declined to disclose further details about what officers encountered inside, citing respect for the victims and their families. He said the tragedy had deeply affected the entire community.

The police chief declined to discuss a possible motive but indicated that mental health could be a factor. Investigators plan to speak with relatives and examine the mobile phones of the two women killed outside the house to establish what may have happened before the shooting.

“They knew something was going on at that house,” Lorah said, adding that investigators needed to determine what it was.

Nicole and Debra Eller, whose close friend was among the victims, said they had known the family for more than 30 years. Nicole Eller described the shooter as a good person who had begun to deteriorate over time, while Debra Eller expressed shock that such violence could occur within the family.

The shooting has drawn comparisons with a 1982 massacre in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in which a man killed 13 people, including five of his own children.

Erie Mayor Daria Devlin expressed condolences to the victims’ families at a news conference on Saturday, describing the incident as horrific and assuring them that the community stood with them in their grief.

Erie is located about 120 miles north of Pittsburgh.