Nine people were victims of mass slaughter in one house

A man fatally stabbed eight people, including a pregnant woman and children, at a Pennsylvania home on Friday before authorities believe he took his own life.

The names of the victims were not disclosed, but seven relatives and a family friend died in the incident.

Police Chief Erie Rick Laura said it was premature to speculate about the alleged shooter's motives, but noted that mental health may have played a role.

Police discovered the killings at around 17:00 on Friday when police officers were called to their residence after reports of a shooting. Witnesses told authorities they saw the attacker with a gun outside the building before he entered.

Arriving at the scene, police found two women lying dead on the street, both with gunshot wounds. Inside the home, police said they made the stunning discovery, finding six more victims, including a five-year-old boy and a one-year-old girl, as well as the alleged attacker. Investigators believe that the attacker committed suicide.

Video footage shows women in distress arriving at the home. They went outside, knocked on doors and tried to warn neighbors. Authorities believe the alleged gunman walked out of the house, exchanged a few words with the women and then opened fire on them.

“They knew something was going on in that house. We have to figure out what it is, Laura said on Saturday.

The suspect had ties to law enforcement, but their nature remains unclear.

At the news conference, Erie state officials were also criticized for being slow to share details of the shooting with the public.

According to Erie Mayor Daria Devlin, some family members who also lived in the residence were away.

“We couldn’t let it get out on the news to a lot of people before we had the chance to talk to them,” she said.

Laura has previously spoken about the scale of the mass shooting, calling it one of the saddest and heartbreaking scenes he has witnessed.

“The loss of life is appalling and the circumstances we face are deeply disturbing,” Laura said.

Data from the Firearms Archives indicate that the Erie killings were at least the 19th mass shooting this year. Such cases are defined as cases in which four or more victims are killed. Many of these massacres were so-called family fights, in which an attacker kills several close family members. The nonpartisan archive also said the Erie killings were among more than 500 mass shootings across the U.S. since early January. Mass shootings are defined as cases where four or more victims are fatally or non-fatally injured.

Mass shootings have been a persistent problem in the U.S. for years, often intensifying public demands for tighter federal gun control measures. Despite these calls, Congress never put in place the restrictions that have been talked about for years.