Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Four children and four adults were killed after a gunman who was also a family member opened fire at a Montana home and set it ablaze, according to police.
The Billings Police Department said officers responded to the home Sunday evening and heard gunshots coming from the back of the residence shortly before it became fully engulfed in flames.
Investigators confirmed Tuesday that eight people were killed and said crews were still working to “safely recover their remains.”
“A significant number of personnel continue to work at the location,” a release said. “Due to the condition and structural integrity of the residence, recovery and investigative efforts must be conducted carefully and methodically.”
Firefighters battled the blaze until about 1 a.m. Monday, Billings Fire Department Chief Matt Hoppel said. The home is in a subdivision outside city limits that is not required to have fire hydrants.
Efforts to fight the fire were delayed until law enforcement secured the scene, allowing the blaze to tear through the home.
Officials have not released the victims’ identities “to protect the integrity of this ongoing investigation and the recovery efforts currently underway,” the police department and Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office said in a joint statement.
However, family members told The Associated Press the shooting erupted during a dinner at the home, weeks after the suspect’s parents asked him to move out.
Brad Ireland, whose former wife and two children were among those killed, identified the shooter as 44-year-old Alan Smith. Smith’s parents were also killed, Ireland said, adding that Smith tried to flee before being confronted by law enforcement.
Those killed included Ireland’s ex-wife, Megan Ghekiere, and their children, Owen Ireland, 13, and Chloe Ireland, 7. Also killed were Megan Ghekiere’s stepchildren, Landon Ghekiere, 15, and Charlotte Ghekiere, 12.
READ MORE: 13wham.com/news/nation-world/girl-12-called-911-as-gunman-alan-smith-killed-8-family-members-torched-billings-montana-home-police-investigation-firefighters-yellowstone-county
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Four children and four adults were killed after a gunman who was also a family member opened fire at a Montana home and set it ablaze, according to police.
The Billings Police Department said officers responded to the home Sunday evening and heard gunshots coming from the back of the residence shortly before it became fully engulfed in flames.
Investigators confirmed Tuesday that eight people were killed and said crews were still working to “safely recover their remains.”
“A significant number of personnel continue to work at the location,” a release said. “Due to the condition and structural integrity of the residence, recovery and investigative efforts must be conducted carefully and methodically.”
Firefighters battled the blaze until about 1 a.m. Monday, Billings Fire Department Chief Matt Hoppel said. The home is in a subdivision outside city limits that is not required to have fire hydrants.
Efforts to fight the fire were delayed until law enforcement secured the scene, allowing the blaze to tear through the home.
Officials have not released the victims’ identities “to protect the integrity of this ongoing investigation and the recovery efforts currently underway,” the police department and Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office said in a joint statement.
However, family members told The Associated Press the shooting erupted during a dinner at the home, weeks after the suspect’s parents asked him to move out.
Brad Ireland, whose former wife and two children were among those killed, identified the shooter as 44-year-old Alan Smith. Smith’s parents were also killed, Ireland said, adding that Smith tried to flee before being confronted by law enforcement.
Those killed included Ireland’s ex-wife, Megan Ghekiere, and their children, Owen Ireland, 13, and Chloe Ireland, 7. Also killed were Megan Ghekiere’s stepchildren, Landon Ghekiere, 15, and Charlotte Ghekiere, 12.
READ MORE: 13wham.com/news/nation-world/girl-12-called-911-as-gunman-alan-smith-killed-8-family-members-torched-billings-montana-home-police-investigation-firefighters-yellowstone-county
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For more information, visit 13wham.com
Have a news tip? Send it directly to us:
Email us: news@13wham.com
Call the Newsroom: (585) 334-8700
WHAM is a NY based station and a ABC Television affiliate owned and operated by Deerfield Media, Inc and receives certain services from an affiliation of Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today.
#13WHAM #News #Rochester #NewYork
