BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
Brad Ireland, whose former wife and two children were among the dead, identified the shooter as 44-year-old Alan Smith. Smith\u2019s parents, who were also killed, had asked him to move out, but he returned on Sunday and opened fire, Ireland said.<\/p>\n
The victims represented four generations of the blended family, ranging from a great-grandmother in her 90s who used a wheelchair 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.<\/p>\n
Gunshots followed by an inferno<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The investigation has been complicated by concerns about the structural integrity of the house after the fire burned it to its foundation, said Jeff Stovall, a spokesperson for the Billings Police Department.<\/p>\n
Firefighters fought the blaze until around 1 a.m., according to Billings Fire Chief Matt Hoppel. The subdivision where the home was located was outside of municipal limits and not required to have fire hydrants.<\/p>\n
Efforts to fight the fire were delayed until the site was secure, allowing the blaze to tear through the home.<\/p>\n
12-year-old calls 911<\/p>\n
Among those killed were Ireland\u2019s ex-wife, Megan Ghekiere, and their two children, Owen Ireland, 13, and Chloe Ireland, 7. Also killed were Ghekiere\u2019s two stepchildren with her current husband: Landon Ghekiere, 15, and Charlotte Ghekiere, 12.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one thing we do know is that Charlotte was the hero,\u201d Mercer said. \u201cCharlotte called 911 and she tried to save her family. And that\u2019s something the family does want out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
She described the family as \u201cvery loving and close,\u201d and said the children all got along and that their parents remained amicable even after divorcing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like our entire community is devastated, even people that never knew any of them,\u201d Mercer said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \n Sign up for Morning Wire:<\/strong> The family relocated from Seattle<\/p>\n The Smith family was originally from the Seattle area. Ireland said that after he and Megan Ghekiere divorced six years ago, she moved to Montana with their children. That\u2019s where she met the man who would become her second husband, who was working and was not at the home when the shooting occurred.<\/p>\n Her parents, Dana and Barb Smith, soon followed, buying a house in Billings near their daughter\u2019s home. Evelyn Smith, Dana\u2019s elderly mother, lived in a nearby retirement community, Ireland said.<\/p>\n Alan Smith moved in with his parents in Montana and stayed with them 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.<\/p>\n Ireland said Alan Smith killed his grandmother, his parents, his younger sister and the four children before setting the house on fire. He tried to flee before being confronted by law enforcement, he said.<\/p>\n Suspect was a \u2018hermit,\u2019 relative says<\/p>\n \u201cThere were many red flags and many people spoke out,\u201d said Ireland, who lives in Arizona. \u201cNo one listened.\u201d<\/p>\n Alan Smith was a \u201chermit\u201d who spent most of his days in his room on his computer, Ireland said.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one knew what he did in there 24\/7,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Ireland said that to his knowledge Alan Smith had never been violent, though he could be verbally abusive.<\/p>\n 22nd mass killing this year<\/p>\n The shootings were the 22nd mass killing this year, according to a database<\/a> maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.<\/p>\n Fifteen of those have stemmed from domestic disputes, which is higher than the average of about 50% of U.S. mass killings, said James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University who manages the database.<\/p>\n
\n Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.\n <\/p>\n