BILLINGS, MT — A man killed eight relatives, including four children, during a Sunday dinner gathering outside Billings, according to family members and police. Investigators say the suspect, identified by relatives as 44-year-old Alan Smith, also suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound and later died.
The dead included Smith’s parents, his grandmother, his younger sister and four children from the blended family, family members said. Police were called to the home Sunday evening and heard gunshots from behind the house before flames spread through the structure. The fire consumed the home to its foundation, complicating the investigation.
Relatives said the attack came weeks after Smith’s parents asked him to move out. The family had gathered for a weekly meal when he returned and opened fire, according to a family member who spoke with The Associated Press.
Victims included children from four generations of the family
Those killed included Megan Ghekiere, Smith’s former wife; Owen Ireland, 13; Chloe Ireland, 7; Landon Ghekiere, 15; and Charlotte Ghekiere, 12. The other victims were Smith’s parents and his grandmother, Evelyn Smith, who lived in a nearby retirement community, relatives said.
Jennifer Mercer, a neighbor and family friend who organized an online fundraiser, said the victims represented four generations of the same blended family. She said the oldest victim was a great-grandmother in her 90s who used a wheelchair, while the youngest was a 7-year-old girl.
Mercer described the family as close and loving, saying the children got along well and the adults remained amicable after divorce. Friends and supporters have launched GoFundMe efforts to help with funeral costs and other expenses.
Charlotte Ghekiere called 911 before the fire spread
Family members say 12-year-old Charlotte Ghekiere made the 911 call from inside the house and tried to help others before the blaze overtook the home. Mercer said the family wanted that detail made public because it showed Charlotte’s efforts to save her relatives.
Adam Ghekiere, Charlotte’s father and Megan Ghekiere’s current husband, said he was working at the Billings airport when he heard about an active shooting over dispatch radio. He called each family member and rushed across town, but by the time he arrived, the house was burning.
He later learned his wife and children were dead. Ghekiere said the children were not even supposed to be at the dinner because the family typically gathered on Fridays instead of Sundays.
Police say the burned home is slowing the investigation
Billings police spokesperson Jeff Stovall said the fire destroyed the home to the point that investigators are concerned about structural safety. The house sits in a subdivision outside city limits that is not required to have fire hydrants, and firefighters worked through the blaze until about 1 a.m. Monday, Billings Fire Department Chief Matt Hoppel said.
Officials said fire crews delayed full suppression efforts until the scene was secure, which allowed the flames to move through the house. Police said the suspect tried to flee before being confronted by law enforcement.
Relatives described Alan Smith as someone who spent most of his time alone in his room on a computer. They said he had attended Eastern Washington University and had trouble finding or keeping a job, but they were not aware of any arrests or criminal charges in Montana or Washington.
The killings are part of a grim rise in domestic mass violence
Using the AP and USA Today database maintained with Northeastern University, the shooting was the 22nd mass killing of the year. Fifteen of those cases have stemmed from domestic disputes, a share higher than the long-term average of roughly half of U.S. mass killings, according to criminologist James Alan Fox.
The Montana attack is the deadliest mass killing in the United States since April, when a father in Louisiana killed eight children, including seven of his own, and wounded his wife and another woman. Family members in Montana said the damage has spread far beyond the house itself.
Mercer said even people who did not know the family have been shaken by the killings. Relatives and friends continue to raise money and gather details as investigators work through the aftermath of the fire and the shooting.
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