BILLINGS, MT — Eight people, including four children, are believed to have been killed after a shooting and house fire at a Billings home that police say began as a family disturbance. Officers responded Sunday evening after a 911 call reported an active shooting event, and they heard gunfire when they arrived. The residence was already burning and quickly became fully engulfed in flames.
Billings police said Tuesday that four adults and four children are believed dead, while crews continue working to recover remains from the fire-damaged home. A suspect also died after officers found a man in the backyard with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities have not released the names or ages of the victims or the suspect.
Police say officers arrived to gunfire and flames within minutes of the 911 call
Assistant Chief Shawn Mayo said law enforcement reached the home shortly after 6 p.m. on Sunday, following the emergency call about an active shooting. The scene was already dangerous when officers got there, with gunfire still underway and the structure burning. Police have said no additional people are being sought in connection with the incident.
Officials also said there is believed to be no ongoing threat to the wider community. While investigators continue to sort out the sequence of events, police have described the situation as an unimaginable tragedy for the family and for Billings as a whole. The case remains active, but the immediate public-safety risk appears to have passed.
Yellowstone County officials say the violence started as a family disturbance
Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O’Donnell said during a Monday briefing that investigators believe the incident started as a family disturbance. That account has shaped the early homicide investigation, which is being led by Yellowstone County in cooperation with the Billings Police Department.
Police said multiple local, state and federal agencies are involved in the work, which is intended to be thorough and accurate. Officials have not publicly identified a motive or explained the full relationship among the people involved. For now, authorities are focusing on recovering victims from the home and documenting what happened before and during the shooting and fire.
Firefighters faced a burning home, gunfire and few hydrants in the subdivision
Billings Fire Chief Matt Hoppel said firefighters arrived to find an active scene involving reports of gunfire and a home already on fire. Crews had to coordinate closely with police and weigh the need to put out the blaze against the risk to responder safety. Hoppel said the conditions changed quickly and made the response especially difficult.
The fire consumed the house amid additional challenges, including a lack of fire hydrants in the subdivision. Hoppel said the cause and origin of the fire will be investigated once the scene is safe enough to examine. Until then, officials are treating the property as both a crime scene and a fire scene, which has slowed the recovery effort.
Investigators have not identified the victims as recovery efforts continue at the damaged home
Authorities have not released the identities of the dead or said how old the children were. Police also have not described the suspect beyond saying he died after being taken to a hospital with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The investigation remains centered on the same Billings residence where the shooting and fire occurred.
Officials said the scene must be made safe before the remains can be fully recovered and a deeper fire investigation can begin. In the meantime, the agencies involved are working together to preserve evidence and piece together the timeline. Police have emphasized that, despite the scale of the tragedy, there is no indication of an additional threat to the community.
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