Fourteen killed in two separate US mass shootings | US News

Two mass shootings in the United States have claimed the lives of 14 people in the space of a few hours, local police forces have confirmed.

Five people were shot dead at a home in Douglas, Georgia, on Friday evening, the city’s police department said on Saturday.

Officers from the Douglas Police Department were called out late on Friday to a report that shots had been fired. Five people with gunshot wounds were all pronounced dead.

Also on Friday evening, a further nine people were killed in Erie, Pennsylvania, in what was described as a “tragic mass ‌shooting”.

Police said two children and a pregnant woman were among those who died.

The city of Erie said in a statement all nine deaths, including that of the assailant, occurred before officers arrived at the scene, with no additional shots fired after that.

They had been alerted via ShotSpotter, a controversial detection system that uses artificial intelligence and a network of microphones to identify possible gunshots.

Governor Josh Shapiro wrote on social media: “I’ve spoken with Mayor [Daria] Devlin and offered my Administration’s ⁠full support ​following the tragic ​mass shooting in ​Erie last night – ⁠killing nine of our ⁠fellow Pennsylvanians.”

Erie police chief Rick Lorah described ⁠the scene as one ​of the most difficult he ​had seen during his time.

“The loss ​of life is devastating, and ⁠the circumstances we are working through are deeply disturbing,” he said in a statement, adding a motive had not yet been established.

He told a local news station he had “not seen anything like this in my 28-plus years”.

“I’m not sure that the city of Erie has ever seen the loss of life and the devastation that we just witnessed.”

A news conference is expected later on Saturday.

There is no single definition of a mass shooting in the United States, but it is generally understood to mean at least three or four people shot and killed, excluding the perpetrator.