Why did man turn gun on his friend at firing range?

Police still don’t know what sparked incident in which gunman was killed by bystander

ERIE — State police investigators are still trying to understand why an Erie County man who met up with a friend and their girlfriends at a gun range to try out a new pistol on Tuesday afternoon turned the weapon on his friend and fired it repeatedly before a bystander fatally shot him.

“At this point, we are continuing to investigate the back story, the relationship between these two individuals, to determine why the shooting occurred,” Lt. Mark Weindorf, crime section supervisor for state police, said Thursday morning.

Weindorf referenced the relationship between 26-year-old Robert A. Eppley, of North East, who died after being shot by the bystander; and a 28-year-old Erie man, whom Eppley shot multiple times. Authorities have not released the name of the 28-year-old or the bystander.

The 28-year-old Erie man was treated at UPMC Hamot for his wounds and was released Tuesday night.

The man who state police said shot Eppley, identified only as a 67-year-old Erie resident, apparently had no connection to Eppley or his friend, according to investigators.

Weindorf said Thursday that the ongoing probe into Tuesday’s incident is essentially two separate investigations: the first involving Eppley’s shooting of his friend, and the second the fatal shooting of Eppley.

Investigators have interviewed Eppley’s friend and the 67-year-old man, as well as several other people who were at the gun range at the time.

No charges had been filed in the incident as of Thursday. The gun range remains closed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

State police have said that Eppley and his friend met at the State Game Lands 109 gun range in Greene Township after traveling in separate vehicles with their girlfriends on Tuesday afternoon. Weindorf said Wednesday that one of the men had just purchased a new pistol and they wanted to shoot it.

According to Weindorf, Eppley had the gun at one point and fired several rounds down range before he turned to the 28-year-old Erie man, who was standing about 10 feet from him, and began firing the weapon at him.

The 67-year-old man, who was in a neighboring shooting stall, witnessed Eppley shooting the Erie man and fired his weapon at Eppley, Weindorf said.

Eppley was pronounced dead at the scene a little more than an hour after the shooting was reported to state police. An autopsy determined that Eppley died of gunshot wounds to the torso, Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said. Cook ruled the death a homicide.