(DPA)

Nine people were killed in a mass shooting at a home in the US state of Pennsylvania overnight, authorities said on Saturday.

The shooting took place in Erie, a city of just over 90,000 residents on Lake Erie, which forms part of the border between the United States and Canada.

Erie police chief Rick Lorah said nine people, including the suspect shooter, died at the scene. Eight of those killed were related to each other, he said.

A 1-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy were among those killed and one of the victims was eight months pregnant, Lorah said.

When officers arrived at the scene they were met with an "eerie silence," Lorah told a press conference.

"Some scenes stay with you long after you leave them. This is one of those tragic scenes," he said.

"Out of respect for the victims and the families, I will not discuss the details of what our officers encountered inside that home," Lorah said. "But I want our community to understand the gravity of what happened and the profound impact this tragedy has had on those involved and on our community as a whole."

The suspected shooter, a 45-year-old man, was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Lorah said. He did not discuss a possible motive for the shooting. 

Video and audio evidence showed two "distressed" women arriving at the home, Lorah said. Police arrived to find the two women dead outside the house, he said.

"They knew something was going on at that house," he said. "We have to figure out what that is."

Governor Josh Shapiro wrote on X that he had spoken with Mayor Daria Devlin following the shooting.

"I've spoken with Mayor Devlin and offered my Administration's full support following the tragic mass shooting in Erie last night - killing nine of our fellow Pennsylvanians," he wrote.