Erie gunman who killed eight was related to seven victims, police say
publishers 17articles 18first reported 11 Oct, 23:14 UTCdeveloping since 12 Oct · 7 editions
A 45-year-old man killed eight people at an Erie, Pennsylvania, home Friday before taking his own life, police said. Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said the gunman was related to seven of the victims; the eighth was a friend of the pregnant woman.
The victims included a 1-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy, two young men and four women, including the toddler’s pregnant mother and her unborn baby. Julius Windham, the toddler’s father, described the shooter as the family’s patriarch and a grandfather. He said the man had appeared cheerful and had not seemed distressed or out of the ordinary.
Investigators recovered video and audio evidence that included muffled gunshots inside the home shortly before two distressed women arrived and pounded on the door, Lorah said. The gunman came outside and shot the women as they ran toward him, then returned to the house. Responding officers found the women outside and, after deploying a drone and robot, entered the home and discovered the other victims and the shooter.
Authorities have not disclosed a motive. Lorah said investigators planned to interview relatives and examine the phones of the women found outside to determine what brought them to the home.
Mourners placed candles, flowers and stuffed animals outside the residence Sunday. Windham said he was trying to remain strong for his family and community.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 5 articles, 1 with the publisher's own text; 5 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 18 h after the record first saw the story; the editor revised it.
- Publishers
- 17
- Source articles
- 18
- Given to the writer
- 5, 1 with the article's own text
- Independent newsrooms
- 5
- This version written
- 18 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
- revised
- Publication gate
- passed
- Human review
- none
WHAT THE EDITOR DID
The second model checked the writer's draft against the same sources and changed it before publication. Struck words were in the draft; underlined words are its corrections.
WHAT IT FLAGGED editor revise: The story needs small corrections to avoid overstating the shooting details and to match the source’s description of the pregnant victim and unborn baby. - "A 45-year-old man fatally shot eight people at an Erie, Pennsylvania, home Friday before taking his own life, police said.": The source says the gunman killed eight people in the mass shooting and took his own life, but does not explicitly say he personally fatally shot all eight victims. - "one of whom was pregnant": The source says the pregnant mother and her unborn baby were among those killed, not merely that one of the four women was pregnant. - "Julius Windham, the toddler’s father, described the shooter as the family’s patriarch and grandfather.": The source says Windham said the gunman was a grandfather and patriarch, but does not specifically say he was the toddler’s grandfather; another listed source title says that, but the provided ABC text only supports grandfather generally. - "The gunman came outside and shot the women as they ran toward him": The source says the women ran toward the gunman, but this phrasing may misleadingly imply they approached him after he emerged; the supported sequence is that he came out and shot them as they ran toward him.
THE DRAFT AND THE CHANGES
Erie gunman who killed eight was related to seven victims, police say
A 45-year-old man fatally shotkilled eight people at an Erie, Pennsylvania, home Friday before taking his own life, police said. Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said the gunman was related to seven of the victims; the eighth was a friend of one of the womenpregnant killed.woman.
The victims included a toddler,1-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy, two young men and four women, oneincluding ofthe whomtoddler’s waspregnant pregnant.mother and her unborn baby. Julius Windham, the toddler’s father, described the shooter as the family’s patriarch and a grandfather. He said the man had appeared cheerful and had not seemed distressed or out of the ordinary.
Investigators recovered video and audio evidence that included muffled gunshots inside the home shortly before two distressed women arrived and pounded on the door, Lorah said. The gunman came outside and shot the women as they ran toward him, then returned to the house. Responding officers found the women outside and, after deploying a drone and robot, entered the home and discovered the other victims and the shooter.
Authorities have not disclosed a motive. Lorah said investigators planned to interview relatives and examine the phones of the women found outside to determine what brought them to the home.
Mourners placed candles, flowers and stuffed animals outside the residence Sunday. Windham said he was trying to remain strong for his family and community.
Written by a language model from the sources above, then checked by a second model that may only cut, attribute or correct. How it works →