A 44-year-old man fatally shot eight of his relatives including four children during a weekly family dinner at a home near Billings Montana on Sunday evening before setting the house ablaze and later dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Brad Ireland whose former wife and two children were among the victims identified the shooter as Alan Smith. Smith had been living with his parents but was asked to move out weeks before the attack. He returned unexpectedly Sunday evening while the family had gathered for their regular dinner.
The victims spanned four generations of the blended family ranging from a great-grandmother in her 90s who used a wheelchair to a 7-year-old girl. Among the dead were Megan Ghekiere and her children Owen Ireland age 13 and Chloe Ireland age 7 as well as stepchildren Landon Ghekiere age 15 and Charlotte Ghekiere age 12.
Charlotte Ghekiere was credited as a hero by family friend Jennifer Mercer who said the 12-year-old called 911 from inside the house in an attempt to save her family. Her father Adam Ghekiere who works at the Billings airport heard about the shooting over a dispatch radio and rushed to the scene only to find the home completely engulfed in flames.
Police arrived Sunday evening and heard gunshots coming from behind the property just before the fire consumed the structure down to its foundation. Firefighting efforts were delayed while law enforcement secured the scene and the home lacked access to fire hydrants making containment more difficult. Crews battled the blaze until around 1 a.m. Monday.
Ireland described Smith as a reclusive figure who spent most of his time alone in his room. Smith had attended Eastern Washington University but was reportedly unable to maintain employment. No criminal record was found in either Montana or Washington state.
The family originally relocated from the Seattle area. Ireland said Smith killed his grandmother his parents his younger sister and the four children before attempting to flee. Law enforcement confronted him and he later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Adam Ghekiere said his children were not originally expected to be at the dinner as it typically occurred on Fridays. He said the word monster was not enough to describe what his brother-in-law did.
The attack has been classified as the 22nd mass killing in the United States this year and the deadliest since a Louisiana shooting in April according to a database maintained by the Associated Press USA Today and Northeastern University.
