Erie Gunman Killed His Pregnant Daughter, Two Grandchildren and Five Others, Coroner Says

The man who opened fire at his home in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, killed his wife, his pregnant daughter, his two adult sons and two young grandchildren, along with two women who had come to the house, before taking his own life, the Erie County coroner said.

Coroner Lyell Cook identified the gunman as Matthew Stone, 45, NBC News and Cleveland 19 reported. Police said he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside the house on Perry Street.

Who was killed

Six of the eight victims were found inside the home where they lived, Cook told NBC News: Stone’s wife, Michelle Stone; his daughter, Angelina Stone, 24; his sons, Matthew Stone Jr., 21, and Jonathan Stone, 19; and two children, a 5-year-old boy and a girl who was not yet 2.

Angelina Stone was pregnant, and her baby was due within days, according to the coroner.

Two women were shot outside the house: Lora Lee Roberts, 37, and Twila A. Tanner, 51. Police said the gunman was related to seven of the eight people he killed, and that the eighth was a friend.

What police say happened

A gunshot-detection system alerted Erie police shortly before 5 p.m., and officers arrived within minutes, Police Chief Rick Lorah said.

Video and audio recovered by investigators captured muffled gunshots inside the home just before two “distressed” women arrived and pounded on the door, Lorah said, according to The Associated Press. The gunman then came outside, shot both women as they ran toward him, and went back in.

All of the deaths happened before officers got there, and no shots were fired after police arrived, Lorah said. The loud bangs neighbors heard later came from flash-bang devices used by the tactical team, he told reporters, CBS News reported.

“When we arrived on scene, we did not hear a gunshot,” Lorah said. “We did not hear a cry for help. We did not see movement inside.”

No motive yet

Lorah said it was too soon to discuss a motive, though he suggested mental health may have played a role. He said investigators would talk to relatives and examine the phones of the two women killed outside. “They knew something was going on at that house,” he said.

The city of Erie said in a statement that the shooting had brought “shock and sorrow” to the community. “Our thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones and everyone impacted by tonight’s tragedy,” the statement said.

Erie is about 120 miles north of Pittsburgh.