Montana Man Asked to Move Out Weeks Before Killing 8 Relatives at Family Dinner

A 44-year-old man killed eight of his relatives, including four children, during a family dinner at a home outside Billings, Montana, after his parents had asked him to move out several weeks earlier, according to a family member who spoke to the Associated Press.

Brad Ireland, whose former wife and two children were among those killed, identified the man as Alan Smith. Ireland said Smith had lived with his parents for years before being asked to leave and unexpectedly returned on Sunday evening while the family had gathered for dinner.

Police responded after reports of gunfire and found the house engulfed in flames. Investigators later confirmed eight victims, while Smith also died after suffering a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to police and family members.

Ireland told the AP that Smith had lived with his parents for years before they asked him to move out several weeks before the killings.

Smith unexpectedly returned to the family home on Sunday evening while relatives were gathered for dinner. Ireland described Smith as a 'hermit' who spent much of his time alone in his room using his computer.

Ireland said Smith had been verbally abusive but, to his knowledge, had never previously been violent. A search of criminal records in Montana and Washington found no record of Smith having been arrested or charged with a crime as of the time of reporting.

Authorities have not publicly established a motive for the killings or said whether Smith being asked to move out was connected to the shooting.

Billings Police Department officers responded to the home on Sunday evening and heard gunshots coming from the rear of the property shortly before the building became engulfed in flames.

Firefighting efforts were delayed while armed officers secured the area. Billings Fire Department Chief Matt Hoppel said firefighters battled the blaze until around 1:00 a.m. on Monday. The subdivision is outside city limits and does not have fire hydrants, making the fire more difficult to contain.

Police spokesperson Jeff Stovall said the fire burned the house to its foundation and complicated the investigation because of concerns about the property's structural integrity. The damage has made it more difficult for investigators to reconstruct what happened inside.

The victims included Smith's parents, Dana and Barb Smith, his grandmother Evelyn Smith and his sister Megan Ghekiere. Four children also died: Owen Ireland, 13, Chloe Ireland, seven, Landon Ghekiere, 15, and Charlotte Ghekiere, 12.

Jennifer Mercer, a neighbour and family friend who established a fundraiser, said the victims represented four generations of a blended family, ranging from a great-grandmother in her 90s to a seven-year-old girl.

Mercer said Charlotte managed to call 911 from inside the house during the shooting in an attempt to save her family. Adam Ghekiere, Megan's current husband, later said police confirmed that his stepdaughter had made the call.

Adam Ghekiere was working at Billings Airport when he heard about the shooting over a dispatch radio. He travelled to the property, where he later learned that his wife and children had been killed.

Friends of the victims have established online fundraisers to help cover funeral costs and other expenses.

The shooting was the 22nd mass killing recorded in the United States this year, according to a database maintained by the Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. Fifteen involved domestic disputes, a figure James Alan Fox, the Northeastern criminologist who manages the database, said was above the historical average of about 50%.

According to the AP, the Montana shooting was the deadliest mass killing in the US since April, when a Louisiana father killed eight children and wounded two others during a family dispute.