A grief-stricken father has spoken out after eight family members were killed by a disgruntled relative in a shootout before their home was set ablaze.
Adam Ghekiere spoke out after his wife Megan and their two children, 12-year-old Charlotte and 15-year-old Landon, were killed at their Montana home Sunday evening.
Ghekiere’s two stepchildren, Chloe, 7, and Owen, 13, and their 92-year-old wheelchair-bound great-grandmother were also killed, along with two other family members, The US Sun reported.
Alan Smith, 44, was identified as the shooter who torched the house in Billings to the ground – trapping some of the family inside, a family spokesman said.
Smith shot the family during Sunday dinner just a few weeks after he was asked to move out of the home. He took his own life shortly after.
Brad Ireland, the family’s spokesperson, named Smith as the killer. Ireland’s ex-wife Megan and two kids, Chloe and Owen, were among the victims in the massacre.
Smith’s parents, who were also killed, had asked him to move out, but he returned on Sunday and opened fire, Ireland said.
Ghekiere, a rescue firefighter, was working at an airshow when he heard on the fire department communications system that the horrific incident was unfolding near his in-laws home in Billings.
‘I tried calling the house and no one answered. I checked my kids’ locations, both Landon and Charlotte, and no one answered,’ he told the outlet.
Eight members of the same family including two young teenagers have been killed by a gunman who opened fire on their house. Pictured is Adam Ghekiere with his family including his son, right, and older daughter, forward right, who died
Large clouds of smoke towered over the home on Sunday as flames ripped through
‘By the time we got to the house, they wouldn’t let us get any closer because it was still under an active shooter status. I feared the worst right then,’ he added.
Interim Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O’Donnell said gunshots were heard in the background of a 911 call and the house was set alight within three minutes.
‘We have a situation going on with shots being fired,’ the dispatcher said in the chilling 911 call, adding: ‘There is also going to be an unconscious child inside of the home.’
The dispatcher could not confirm if the child had been shot or was still breathing, but doubled down on the report that they were unconscious.
She told responding officers that a fire engine was ‘staged in the area’ and that ‘another engine’ had already been requested.
Landon and Charlotte with their parents in a photo shared by other family members
Aerial photographs taken after the blaze was extinguished on Sunday show that very little remains of the residence
Billings Fire Department Chief Matt Hoppel said responding firefighters were hampered by there not being any fire hydrants in the area.
‘The delay and limited access presented significant challenges. Fire conditions continued to worsen, and the residence ultimately became heavily involved and was consumed by fire,’ he said.
The two children were mourned online by family and friends of their parents.
‘Landon was just 15 years old and preparing to begin his sophomore year at Senior High School,’ they wrote on an online fundraiser.
‘He was a loving, caring young man who was always willing to lend a hand to his family and neighbors.
‘He was looking forward to getting his driver’s license this week and was a patient, protective, and loving big brother.’
Among the dead were Landon and Charlotte Ghekiere, aged 15 and 12
Charlotte was just about to start seventh grade when she was killed alongside her brother.
‘Funny, precocious, and adorable – with just the right amount of stubborn – Charlotte had an angelic smile and loved posing for pictures,’ the fundraiser shared.
‘She especially loved exploring the world around her, turning over rocks to look for bugs. Oh, how she loved her bugs!’
Ghekiere is an Airport Rescue Firefighter and was not involved in the shooting, family said.
The events leading up to the shooting and how the house was set on fire are being investigated by the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies.
