Grandfather Kills His Own Children and Grandkids in Horrific Pennsylvania Massacre

A Pennsylvania grandfather allegedly turned on his own family in a devastating shooting that killed eight people, including his pregnant daughter and two young grandchildren, before taking his own life, according to police and grieving relatives.

The bloodshed unfolded Friday, October 9, inside a home in Erie, Pennsylvania, leaving an entire family shattered and investigators searching for answers about what triggered the violence.

The suspected gunman, a 45-year-old man whose name has not been publicly released, was related to seven of the eight people he killed. The remaining victim was a family friend, Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah confirmed.

Among those killed was Angelina Stone, a 24-year-old mother who was just days away from giving birth to her third child, a baby boy she had already named Kyrie.

Her two young children, 5-year-old Isiah and 22-month-old Amari’anna, were also killed. The Erie County coroner separately classified the death of Stone’s unborn baby as a homicide, bringing the number of homicide victims to nine, in addition to the gunman’s death.

The tragedy has been especially devastating for Julius Windham, the father of Amari’anna, who told the Associated Press that the suspected killer was the children’s grandfather.

Windham described a man who appeared friendly and cheerful, giving little indication that he might commit such an act.

“Him every day, him smiling,” Windham recalled, explaining that he never imagined anything like this could happen.

Speaking to local television reporters, the grieving father remembered his daughter as a beautiful little girl whose life had barely begun.

“She was my baby, bro, and he just took her,” he said.

According to investigators, the shooting began shortly before 5 p.m. at a residence on Perry Street on Erie’s east side.

Surveillance footage and audio recordings captured several gunshots inside the house before two distressed women arrived outside, apparently aware that something was wrong.

The women, ages 37 and 51, desperately knocked on doors and appeared to seek help. Police believe the gunman then emerged from the house, called toward them and fatally shot both before returning inside.

Officers arrived within minutes of receiving an automated gunfire alert. They discovered the two women dead outside the residence but encountered no further gunfire.

A SWAT team was called in, and officers eventually used a drone and a robot to assess the situation before entering the home.

Inside, police found the bodies of Stone’s two young children on the first floor. Four additional victims, including two women and two young men, were discovered in a stairwell.

The suspected shooter was found dead upstairs from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators recovered a .40-caliber handgun registered to him.

Authorities said all the shooting deaths occurred before police arrived, addressing questions about the time officers needed to enter the property.

The scene left even experienced investigators shaken.

“It was horrific. It was the worst scene I have ever experienced,” Lorah said during a Saturday news conference.

Investigators have not established a motive. Lorah suggested that mental health issues could be one factor under examination, but officials have not confirmed what prompted the attack.

Detectives are reviewing cellphone records, surveillance footage and the family’s communications to reconstruct the events leading up to the shooting. They are particularly interested in why the two women outside the home appeared to know something was wrong.

The Erie County Coroner’s Office has delayed publicly identifying all the victims while surviving relatives are notified.

Meanwhile, loved ones have established fundraisers to help cover funeral expenses for Stone and her children, as well as another victim, Lora Roberts, who was remembered as a devoted mother of five and a loving fiancée.

By Saturday evening, the home had become a gathering place for grieving residents. Candles, balloons, flowers and stuffed animals lined the property as neighbors and relatives struggled to comprehend the loss.

One neighbor, Candice Delange, told WTAE that her family heard the gunshots and screaming from nearby.

Family member Lisa Simmers described the anguish of knowing what was happening without being able to save the children inside.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro acknowledged the tragedy Saturday, calling it a dark day for the commonwealth as the state grappled with multiple deadly acts of violence.

Erie Mayor Daria Devlin also expressed condolences to the surviving family members, promising that the community would stand alongside them.

With the suspected gunman dead, investigators are now focused on establishing a timeline, determining whether there were warning signs and understanding what led to one of the most devastating acts of family violence in Erie’s history.