Two Pennsylvania women who rushed toward gunfire to save a relative were identified among the nine victims of a murder-suicide in Erie.
Lora Roberts, 37, and Twila Tanner, 51, were gunned down outside a Perry Road home on Friday night after they ran to intervene in a mass shooting already underway inside, according to online fundraising campaigns established by their families. Roberts was attempting to rescue her niece when both women were killed by the 45-year-old shooter, who then turned the gun on himself.
Roberts, a mother of five, had been engaged to her fiancé for 14 years. Her sudden death has left loved ones grappling with both emotional devastation and immediate financial strain, according to a GoFundMe page created in her memory.
“Her sudden loss has left her loved ones facing heartbreak as well as immediate financial needs during an unimaginable time,” the page states.
Tanner had joined Roberts in the rescue attempt, traveling with her friend to the home to try to halt the bloodshed. Family and friends described her actions in a separate online fundraiser as an act of selfless courage.
Tanner was “bravely trying to help a friend protect her family from a violent and dangerous individual,” loved ones wrote on the fundraising page. She leaves behind children and grandchildren.
The two friends are believed to have been the final victims before the shooter killed himself. Investigators gathered video and audio evidence showing the “distressed” women pounding on the door after gunshots erupted inside. The gunman stepped outside, shot them both, then returned indoors to take his own life, according to police.
Among the other victims was Angelina Stone, the shooter’s pregnant daughter, who was days away from giving birth to her third child, a son to be named Kyrie. Stone’s two other children, Isiah, 5, and Amari’anna, nearly 2, were also killed in the attack.
Authorities have not yet identified all nine victims publicly, noting they are still in the process of notifying next of kin. Police confirmed that all victims except Tanner, believed to be a family friend, were relatives of the shooter.
Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah addressed the question of motive, telling reporters that he believes “mental health is at play here.” Cops have not released additional details about what precipitated the violence.
The massacre unfolded on Friday night at the home on Perry Road, where the 45-year-old grandfather carried out the killings before ending his own life. The scale of the loss has stunned the Erie community and drawn national attention to the latest American mass casualty event involving domestic violence.
Both the Roberts and Tanner families have turned to online fundraising to cover funeral expenses and support relatives reeling from the murders. The campaigns emphasize the bravery both women displayed in their final moments.
The attack stands as one of the deadliest mass killings in Pennsylvania this year, with victims spanning multiple generations of a single family, including two young children and an unborn baby.