A man killed eight of his relatives, including four children, as they gathered for Sunday dinner at a home in Billings, Montana, just weeks after his parents forced him to move out, a family member told The Associated Press.
Brad Ireland, whose former wife and two children were among the dead, identified the shooter as 44-year-old Alan Smith. Smith’s parents, who were also killed, had asked him to move out, but he returned on Sunday and opened fire, Ireland said.
The victims represented four generations of the blended family, ranging from a great-grandmother in her 90s to a 7-year-old girl, according to Jennifer Mercer, a neighbor and family friend who set up an online fundraiser to help cover funeral costs and other expenses, and was authorized to release these details.
Police said they responded to the home on Sunday evening and heard gunshots coming from out back, just before the house was completely engulfed in flames. Investigators confirmed Tuesday there were eight victims, including four children, and that the suspect had suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound and later died.
Brad Ireland said he had been briefed by investigators who told him Alan Smith shot himself.
Among those killed were Ireland’s ex-wife, Megan Ghekiere, and their two children, Owen Ireland, 13, and Chloe Ireland, 7. Also killed were Ghekiere’s two step-children with her current husband: Landon Ghekiere, 15, and Charlotte Ghekiere, 12.
“The one thing we do know is that Charlotte was the hero,” Mercer said. “Charlotte called 9-1-1 and she tried to save her family. And that’s something the family does want out there.”
She described the family as “very loving and close,” and said the children all got along and that their parents remained amicable even after divorcing.
“I feel like our entire community is devastated, even people that never knew any of them,” Mercer said.
Alan Smith had lived with his parents for years before being asked to move out a couple weeks ago, Ireland said. He unexpectedly returned to the home on Sunday evening, when the Smiths had gathered for a weekly family dinner.
Ireland said Alan Smith opened fire, killing his grandmother, his parents, his younger sister and four children before setting the house on fire. He tried to flee before being confronted by law enforcement, he said.
“There were many red flags and many people spoke out,” said Ireland, who lives in Arizona. “No one listened.”
Alan Smith was a “hermit” who spent most of his days in his room on his computer, Ireland said.
“No one knew what he did in there 24/7,” he said.
Alan Smith had attended Eastern Washington University but had been unable to find or hold a job. A search of criminal records in Montana and Washington found no record Alan Smith had ever been arrested or charged with a crime.
Ireland said that to his knowledge Alan Smith had never been violent, though he could be verbally abusive.
David Hiller, a neighbor who lives three doors down from the home, heard what he thought were fireworks just after 6 p.m. on Sunday, and didn’t think much of the noise until another neighbor called to warn him about a shooting on the cul-de-sac.
Hiller then rushed outside to find police in tactical gear sheltering behind vehicles, some with long guns, while plumes of black smoke rose from the home.
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