A coroner on Monday (Oct. 12) released the names of the gunman and six of the eight people he shot and killed at a home in Erie, Pennsylvania. Seven of the victims were his relatives. The shooter in Friday’s (Oct. 9) attack was Matthew Stone Sr., 45, according to Erie County coroner Lyell Cook. Stone took his own life at the home, Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said. Among the victims was a 24-year-old pregnant woman, Angelina Stone and her two young children.
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Some Victims In Pennsylvania Shooting Identified
According to Coroner Cook, the adult victims were 44-year-old Michelle Stone, 19-year-old Jonathan Stone and 21-year-old Matthew Stone. Matthew Stone Sr. is also accused of shooting two women who lived at other addresses: 37-year-old Lora Roberts and 51-year-old Twila Tanner.
Family friend Nicole Eller said one of the victims, Lora, frequently went to the house to help during the pregnancy of her niece and neighbor, Angelina Stone. Roberts, her friends said, was a mother of five who was engaged to be married. Also, Lora was a volunteer and former board member for a community group that helped homeless people. She wrote a July 15 Facebook post decrying recent shootings in Erie.
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“Erie we need to do better!!” she wrote. “Life is precious and its heartbreaking to see so much pain and violence. Check on the people you love, and always choose kindness.”
Additionally, the coroner said a 5-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl also died. However, Cook said state law prevented him from releasing the minors’ names.
Pregnant Woman & Two Children Died
Angelina Stone, as mentioned, was near the end of her pregnancy when Stone Sr. shot and killed her. According to reports, Stone was due to give birth on Monday (Oct. 12). At a memorial to the victims, Julius Windham said his daughter Amarianna was the 1-year-old toddler who died. Angelina was the girl’s mom and also mother of the 5-year-old boy who died, Cook said.
Who Was The Attacker?
Matthew Stone Sr., the shooter in the case, was a grandfather and the family patriarch, according to Julius Windham. Video and audio evidence recovered by investigators included muffled gunshot sounds coming from inside the home. Shortly afterward, two “distressed” women arrived and began pounding on the door, Erie Police Chief Lorah said. The gunman then came out and shot them as they ran toward him, before returning inside. Roberts and Tanner, who was the only non-relative, were killed outside the home, Chief Lorah said.
Moreover, the police chief hasn’t said what the gunman’s possible motives were, but he suggested that his mental health could have been a factor. He said investigators would talk to relatives and examine the cellphones of the women who were killed outside the home.
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Associated Press writer John Raby contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
