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Nine Dead in Erie, Pennsylvania Shooting
Confirmed
In Short: A shooting in Erie, Pennsylvania, left nine people dead, including two children.
Eight people were killed in a shooting in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday, according to Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah.
Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah described the circumstances as 'deeply disturbing,' adding, 'I have not seen anything like this in my 28-plus years.'
The shooting occurred in a location that Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah described as one of the most difficult and heartbreaking scenes for officers and investigators.
The city of Erie posted late Friday night that the suspected shooter was dead and that there was no threat to the public.
Governor Josh Shapiro offered his administration’s full support to Erie Mayor Daria Devlin, emphasizing the devastation the city had witnessed.
The shooting took place in Erie, a city about 117 miles north of Pittsburgh.
Lake Erie, the smallest and shallowest of the Great Lakes, is located near Erie and is a significant part of the region's identity and economy.
Republican Pennsylvania state Rep. David Maloney has proposed renaming Lake Erie as 'Lake Pennsylvania,' arguing that the state’s economy and identity are increasingly tied to the lake.
However, the renaming proposal is likely to face opposition from Native American tribes, who strongly objected to the renaming of Lake Ontario.
The full details and circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation.
What this adds
The shooting in Erie resulted in a higher death toll than initially reported, with the number of victims increasing from eight to nine.
The renaming of Lake Erie to 'Lake Pennsylvania' is a separate issue unrelated to the shooting but reflects broader tensions over regional identity and economic ties.
What's confirmed
- “I have not seen anything like this in my 28-plus years,” Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah told a local news station.
- Erie is about 117 miles (188 kilometers) north of Pittsburgh.
- Gov. Josh Shapiro said Saturday he offered his administration’s “full support” to Erie Mayor Daria Devlin.
- A mass shooting in Erie, Pennsylvania has left nine people dead, including two children, police said.
- "This is Pennsylvania’s only Great Lake. Its modern economy and identity are increasingly tied to the boaters, anglers, families and tourists who come to enjoy it," Maloney said in a statement.
- Republican Pennsylvania state Rep. David Maloney is urging President Donald Trump to rename Lake Erie as “Lake Pennsylvania,” arguing that the state’s economy and identity are increasingly tied to its only Great Lake.
What's still developing
- “My heart breaks for this family,” he wrote on X.
- Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., is pushing legislation to rename "Lake America" permanently, after President Donald Trump changed Lake Ontario's name amid a trade war with Canada.
- "We know that America is changing. Their trading relationships, their foreign policies, their national monuments, their hydronyms. Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always," Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement.
- The president has also suggested renaming New Mexico to "New America," prompting several of the state’s Democratic lawmakers to call on Apple and Google to publicly commit to keeping the state's current name on their respective maps applications.
- On his first day back in office in January 2025, Trump signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America," but, similar to the Lake Ontario rebranding, the order only applies to the U.S. federal government and does not bind Mexico, other international bodies or private entities.
- Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy says Erie is derived from the Iroquoian word “erielhonan,” meaning “long tail” and referring to the eastern cougar.
- Wyandotte and Mohawk tribal leaders have also protested the Lake Ontario change, with one leader calling it “disrespectful” and saying the Department of Interior failed to consult tribal nations on bodies of water named by indigenous people before either the U.S. or Canada were founded.