The gunman, whose name has not been released by authorities, killed seven of his relatives and a friend of the pregnant woman before turning the gun on himself, Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said. The shooting occurred shortly before 5 pm on Friday.
Julius Windham, whose one-year-old daughter Amarianna was among the dead, said the shooter never seemed distressed or out of the ordinary. "I think that was a front for him," Windham said during a memorial on Sunday. "Him every day, him smiling and being just – you would think of nothing like that would happen."
Windham's daughter; the child's pregnant mother; and the woman's five-year-old son and unborn baby were all killed. Windham wore a T-shirt with pictures of the slain woman and children and the words "Forever in my heart".
"Words can't even explain what I'm going through right now," Windham said. "But I gotta be strong for my community, you know what I'm saying? My family, my daughters, my sons, everybody."
A family friend expressed disbelief, asking: "How do you even fathom something like this? How will you go home and tell your kids: 'Hey, your mom, your siblings, your uncles and everybody else just got murdered by your grandpa?'"
Police have recovered video and audio evidence from the scene, including muffled gunshot sounds from inside the home just before two "distressed" women arrived and began pounding on the door, Lorah said. The gunman then came out and shot them before returning inside.
Mourners gathered outside the home on Sunday, placing candles, flowers and stuffed animals in memory of the victims. Authorities have not publicly identified all of the deceased.