A Montana man killed 8 relatives, including 4 kids, at Sunday dinner, family says

On Sunday evening, a man named Alan Smith killed eight of his relatives, including four children, during a family dinner in Billings, Montana, according to a family member who spoke to The Associated Press. The victims, spanning four generations, ranged in age from a great-grandmother in her 90s to a 7-year-old girl. Smith's parents, who were among the deceased, had asked him to move out of their home just weeks prior, but he returned on Sunday and opened fire, according to Brad Ireland, whose ex-wife and two children were also killed.

The victims included Ireland's ex-wife, Megan Ghekiere, and their two children, Owen Ireland, 13, and Chloe Ireland, 7, as well as Ghekiere's two step-children, Landon Ghekiere, 15, and Charlotte Ghekiere, 12. Neighbor Jennifer Mercer described the family as "very loving and close" and noted that the children got along well. She also emphasized that Charlotte Ghekiere was a hero, calling 9-1-1 and attempting to save her family before the house was engulfed in flames.

Police arrived to find gunshots and a house on fire, with the suspect suffering a self-inflicted gunshot wound and later dying. Alan Smith, 44, had been living with his parents for years before being asked to leave a couple of weeks earlier. He returned unexpectedly on Sunday evening during the family gathering and killed his grandmother, parents, younger sister, and four children before attempting to flee.

Ireland described Smith as a "hermit" who spent most of his time in his room on his computer and had no criminal record, though he could be verbally abusive.