WASHINGTON: Fourteen people were killed in two separate shooting incidents in the US states of Georgia and Pennsylvania within a span of a few hours on Friday evening, according to authorities. In Pennsylvania, the nine people killed included two children, a pregnant woman and the suspected gunman.
According to Sky News, five people were killed in a shooting at a house in Douglas, Georgia. Local police confirmed the incident on Saturday, saying officers responded to a report of gunfire late Friday and found five people who had sustained fatal gunshot wounds.
Police have not released further details about the shooting in Douglas.
Nine Killed in Pennsylvania Shooting
The second incident occurred in a residential neighbourhood in Erie, Pennsylvania, where nine people lost their lives in a shooting. Police said the victims included two children and a pregnant woman. The suspected gunman was also among the dead.
Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said the 45-year-old gunman was related to seven of the victims, while the eighth victim was a friend of the pregnant woman.
According to video and audio evidence recovered by investigators, two women who appeared to be distressed arrived at the house shortly before 5 p.m. and repeatedly knocked on the door. Lorah said the gunman then came outside, shot both women and returned inside the house.
When police arrived, they found the two women dead outside the property. Inside the house, officers discovered the bodies of a five-year-old boy, a one-year-old girl, two other women, two young men and the suspected gunman.
Police Investigate Motive Behind the Shooting
Lorah declined to disclose a possible motive for the attack but said investigators would interview other relatives of the victims and examine the mobile phones belonging to the two women killed outside the house.
He indicated that the women appeared to have known that something was happening at the property. Investigators are now trying to determine what they knew and what prompted them to go there.
According to the city administration, officers arrived within minutes after receiving an alert from ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system that uses a network of microphones and artificial intelligence to identify possible gunfire. The system has also faced controversy over its use.
Authorities said all nine deaths had occurred before officers reached the scene and that no further shots were fired after their arrival.
The city administration also clarified that some loud noises heard during the police response were not gunshots but flash-bang devices used by law enforcement officers during their tactical operation.
Police Chief Expresses Shock Over Scale of Tragedy
Speaking to a local news station, Lorah said he had never witnessed anything comparable in more than 28 years of service. He added that he was unsure whether Erie had ever experienced such a devastating loss of life.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he had offered his administration’s full support to Erie Mayor Daria Devlin following the tragedy. Erie is located approximately 190 kilometres north of Pittsburgh.
The two incidents have once again drawn attention to the deadly consequences of gun violence and concerns over public safety in the United States. Authorities have yet to release full details about the circumstances and motives behind either shooting.
