Coroner ID's Erie man fatally shot in head while holding baby outside of East 25th Street house

Tim Hahn, Erie Times-News
·2 min read

A 25-year-old Erie man who was holding a 1-year-old baby outside of an eastside residence when he was shot early Friday morning died of a gunshot wound to the head, Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said Monday.

Cook identified the man as Omar McNair and ruled McNair's death a homicide following an autopsy on Saturday. McNair's death is the eighth homicide in Erie and the 12th in Erie County this year.

Man holding baby fatally shot in Erie: Erie police say man holding baby when he was fatally shot outside of a house early Friday

There were 16 homicides in Erie County, with 10 occurring in the city, in 2020.

Erie police are continuing to investigate Friday's homicide, which was initially reported on Friday at 1:02 a.m. as a shooting in the 700 block of East 25th Street.

Erie police are searching for a suspect after they said a 25-year-old man who was holding a 1-year-old child outside of a residence in the 700 block of East 25th Street was shot in the head and killed on Friday.
Erie police are searching for a suspect after they said a 25-year-old man who was holding a 1-year-old child outside of a residence in the 700 block of East 25th Street was shot in the head and killed on Friday.

According to police, McNair was outside of a residence where he had been staying and was holding a 1-year-old child when people inside of the residence, on the northeast corner of East 25th and Reed streets, said they heard a gunshot. The occupants went outside and found McNair with a gunshot wound to the head, investigators reported on Friday.

One witness reported seeing an individual running away from the shooting scene after it occurred, Police Chief Dan Spizarny said Friday.

The child was not injured in the incident.

McNair was taken to UPMC Hamot, where he was pronounced dead on Friday at 1:37 a.m.

Police held the area of the shooting as a crime scene on Friday as detectives spoke to witnesses and searched the area for evidence, including security cameras that might have filmed portions of the shooting.

Erie police Deputy Chief Rick Lorah said Monday that the investigation is ongoing and "fluid." Detectives are continuing to speak to witnesses and are reviewing surveillance video from throughout the area, he said.

Police are still working to determine how the shooting occurred and who might have been involved, Lorah said.

Anyone with information that could assist police in the ongoing investigation is asked to call Detective Sgt. Craig Stoker at 814-870-1506 or Detective Ira Bush at 814-870-1128.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie homicides: City man shot while holding baby died of shot to head