Matthew Stone, 45, opened fire at his home in Erie, killing 6 family members and 2 neighbors, before turning the gun on himself, according to the county coroner.
The victims of a mass shooting in northwest Pennsylvania included the gunman’s wife and pregnant daughter who was due to give birth on Monday, authorities said.
Matthew Stone, 45, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Friday after killing six members of his own family and two neighbors, Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook told NBC News on Monday.
Victims included the shooter’s wife Michelle Stone, 44, pregnant daughter Angelina K. Stone, 24, and sons Matthew Stone Jr. 21, and Jonathan Stone, 19, according to the coroner.
Angelina Stone was carrying “an unborn fetus who was supposed to have been born today,” Cook said.
Two other unidentified children, a 5-year-old boy and a nearly 2-year-old girl, were also related the shooter and killed inside the house, according to the coroner.
All of the Stones lived at that Perry Street home while victims Twila A. Tanner, 51, and Lora Lee Roberts, 37, were neighbors who were fatally shot outside, Cook said.
Juicesiyah Alexander Ezekiel, father of the slain little girl, said he’s struggling to understand why the elder Stone opened fire.
“I wouldn’t even put this on my worst enemy man,” Ezekiel told NBC affiliate WICU. “It’s sickening.”
The little girl was going to turn 2 next month.
“Her name is Amari’anna,” Ezekiel said. “She’s the most beautiful baby God could have created.”