A Pennsylvania father says the gunman who killed eight at an Erie home, including his 1-year-old daughter, was the family's patriarch and a grandfather.
Julius Windham stood Sunday at a memorial outside the Erie house where his toddler Amarianna died, wearing a T-shirt printed with photos of the women and children and the words “Forever In My Heart.” He described the 45-year-old shooter as the family’s grandfather and patriarch, a man whose daily smile hid what was coming.
Shortly before 5 p.m. Friday, the gunman opened fire at the home in Erie, about 120 miles north of Pittsburgh. Eight people were killed. The shooter then took his own life. Authorities said he was related to seven of the victims; the eighth was a friend of a pregnant woman inside. CNN reported the toll and the family ties as the investigation continued.
Two women died outside after they arrived, pounded on the door, and ran toward the gunman when he stepped out. He shot them, went back inside, and was later found dead on the second floor. Officers found a 5-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl on the first floor, and two more women and two young men in a stairwell. No shots were fired after police arrived. There was no ongoing threat to the public.
Windham lost his daughter and called the smile a front
Windham’s 1-year-old daughter Amarianna was among the dead, along with her pregnant mother, the woman’s 5-year-old son, and the unborn baby. He told reporters the public face never matched the horror.
Standing at the candles, flowers, and stuffed animals left by mourners, Windham spoke of the man the family thought they knew.
"I think that was a front for him."
He added that the gunman smiled every day in a way that gave no warning.
"Him every day, him smiling and being just, you would think of nothing like that would happen."
Windham said the pain defied language, yet he still had to hold steady for everyone left.
"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."
Matthew Stone Sr. named as the attacker who died by suicide
Breitbart reported authorities later identified the gunman as Matthew Stone Sr., 45. Adult victims named included his wife Michelle Stone, 44; pregnant daughter Angelina Stone, 24; sons Jonathan Stone, 19, and Matthew Stone, 21; and the two women killed outside, Lora Roberts, 37, and Twila Tanner, 51. The young children included the 5-year-old boy and 1-year-old Amarianna. Windham’s account matched the picture of a grandfather and family patriarch turning on his own house.
Friends who had known the family more than 30 years struggled to square the past with Friday’s scene. Nicole Eller said the man “was a good guy, and then he started going downhill with everything.” Debra Eller called them a lovely family and asked how a man could do this to his grandchildren and kids.
Similar family annihilation cases leave the same unanswered wreckage for survivors and neighbors.
Police call the scene the worst they have seen
Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said responding officers found the two women dead outside, then used a drone and a robot before entering. He refused to detail what they saw inside out of respect for the victims and families, but he did not soften the weight of it. The New York Post reported his blunt assessment from the press conference.
"It was horrific. It was the worst scene I have ever experienced."
Lorah also told the public the event carried a profound impact on everyone involved and on Erie itself. He said video and audio from the scene captured muffled gunshot sounds from inside before the two women arrived. Investigators planned to speak with relatives and examine the cellphones of the women killed outside. He declined to discuss motive and said mental health could be a factor.
"I think that mental health is at play here."
Lorah noted the women outside “knew something was going on at that house” and added, “We have to figure out what that is.” He described the circumstances as deeply disturbing. Names of victims were not released in the earliest briefings; the gunman’s name also stayed withheld at first.
Governor and mayor face a city in grief
The Washington Examiner reported that Gov. Josh Shapiro confirmed nine people were dead after the gunman opened fire Friday in Erie. Two women were shot on the street outside a home on Perry Street, with more victims found dead inside. Two children were among those killed.
Erie Mayor Daria Devlin addressed victims’ families at a Saturday news conference and offered the only words a city leader can give when the dead include children and an unborn baby.
"I am so deeply sorry. What happened to you was horrific, and there is nothing that any of us can say today that will make this any easier.... Our entire community is with you, we’re grieving with you. And we are here to support you."
Officials urged residents to avoid rumors while the investigation continued. Mourners kept coming Sunday with flowers and toys. The shooting drew comparisons in coverage to a 1982 Wilkes-Barre massacre in which a man killed 13 people, including five of his own children.
Rapid official statements after deadly mass shootings often collide with the slower work of sorting motive, mental health history, and family warning signs that neighbors only recognize too late.
Other recent bursts of gun violence, including attacks minutes apart in separate cities, leave the same hard questions about who saw the danger and what systems failed before the first shot.
Lora Roberts, one of the women killed outside, had posted on Facebook about choosing kindness and checking on the people you love. Her words now sit against the facts of a grandfather who ended eight lives and his own in a single afternoon.
When the family patriarch is the one who pulls the trigger, no press conference can restore what a community loses in one house on one Friday.
