9 Killed in Erie, Pa. Murder-Suicide: 2 Friends Named as Victims

Two of the nine people killed in a Pennsylvania murder-suicide on Friday night have been identified as friends who rushed toward the gunfire trying to save a relative, according to family-run GoFundMe campaigns cited by the New York Post.

Lora Roberts, 37, and Twila Tanner, 51, ran into the Erie, Pa., home where the shooting was underway to try to reach Roberts' niece and were both killed by the 45-year-old grandfather responsible for the attack, the Post reported, citing the fundraising pages.

Who are the two friends killed trying to intervene?

Roberts was a mother of five who was engaged to her fiancé of 14 years, according to a GoFundMe page for her family quoted by the Post. "Her sudden loss has left her loved ones facing heartbreak as well as immediate financial needs during an unimaginable time," the page states.

Tanner, who leaves behind children and grandchildren, was "bravely trying to help a friend protect her family from a violent and dangerous individual," according to a separate GoFundMe campaign cited by the Post. The two friends are believed to have been among the last people killed before the shooter turned the gun on himself, per the Post's reporting.

What happened at the Erie home on Friday night?

• Friday night: A shooting began at a residence in Erie, Pa., that would leave nine people dead, including two children and a pregnant woman, according to the Post.
• During the attack: Roberts and Tanner arrived together at the home in an attempt to stop the violence and reach Roberts' niece, the GoFundMe campaigns say.
• End of the attack: The gunman, described by the Post as the 45-year-old grandfather tied to the household, shot and killed Roberts and Tanner before the episode ended in his own death, consistent with the murder-suicide classification reported by the outlet.
• Oct. 12, 2026: Roberts and Tanner were publicly identified as two of the nine victims through the GoFundMe postings, as first reported by the Post.

The Post's coverage does not include an on-the-record statement from Erie-area law enforcement in the material reviewed, and no official coroner's report is cited in the source article.

Why did the two women go to the house?

According to the GoFundMe language quoted by the Post, Roberts went to try to save her niece, and Tanner accompanied her as a friend trying to help "protect her family from a violent and dangerous individual." Those are the only on-the-record accounts of the women's actions available in the source reporting; no additional witnesses are named in the article.

What to watch next

• Whether Erie County authorities or local police release an official victim list and timeline beyond the family-sourced accounts now circulating.
• Updates to the GoFundMe pages for the Roberts and Tanner families, which the Post says were set up to cover funeral and financial needs.
• Any additional identification of the remaining seven victims, including the two children and the pregnant woman referenced in the Post's reporting.
• Further reporting from the Post or other outlets on the shooter's identity and relationship to the household, a detail the Post says relatives have described separately.

Key terms in this story

• Murder-suicide: An incident in which a person kills one or more others before killing themselves, the classification used by the Post to describe the Erie shooting.
• GoFundMe: An online fundraising platform; family members used separate GoFundMe pages to raise money and share details about Roberts and Tanner after their deaths.
• Erie, Pennsylvania: The city where the shooting took place, according to the Post's report.

The Post's full account, including family statements on both victims, is available at the originating story.

How is the shooter related to the victims?

The Post's related coverage identifies the 45-year-old gunman as the family's grandfather, describing the attack as one in which he killed "his own kids, grandkids" before taking his own life, according to relatives cited in the outlet's separate report on the shooter's identity. That characterization places Roberts' niece — the relative Roberts and Tanner were trying to reach — inside a household where the shooter was a direct family member, though the source material reviewed does not spell out his exact relationship to Roberts and Tanner themselves.

No additional detail on the shooter's background, motive, or any prior law enforcement contact with the household appears in the Post's reporting as cited here.