Law enforcement confirmed the identities this week of the four children and four adults who died Sunday in a mass shooting and structure fire at a home just west of Billings. Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O’Donnell confirmed the names and ages of the victims, which had already been widely re ported, at a press conference Wednesday. They were: Evelyn Smith, 92; Dana Smith, 73; Barbara Smith, 72; Megan Ireland-Ghekiere, 39; Owen Ireland, 13; Chloe Ireland, 7; Landon Ghekiere, 15; and Charlotte Ghekiere, 12.  An Associated Press story Tuesday identified the victims as family members, with Evelyn as the great-grandmother, Dana as her son, Barbara as her daughter-in-law, Megan Ireland-Ghekiere as her granddaughter, and the children as her great-grandchildren.  “This is a tragic loss,” O’Donnell said Wednesday. “I keep using the word ‘tragic’ this week, but I don’t think ‘tragic’ is a strong enough word for this. The family has been devastated and may never recover.” Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O’Donnell speaks to the press on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at the Billings Police Department evidence facility. Credit: Phoebe Tollefson/MTFP The suspect, Alan Smith, is not included among the eight victims, police have clarified. Smith, 44, was pronounced dead upon arrival at a local hospital Sunday evening. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, O’Donnell said.  When officers arrived at the scene, they saw Smith in the front yard, and he retreated inside, O’Donnell said. Officers heard more gunfire, and then Smith went out the back door into the backyard and shot himself. He was pronounced dead upon arriving at a local hospital.  Alan Smith is Dana and Barb Smith’s son, the Associated Press reported.  O’Donnell said Alan Smith had been living at the residence at 15 White Star Circle previously, but not at the time of the shooting. The sheriff made a point of minimizing the discussion about the suspect and focusing instead on the nature of the event and the community response.  O’Donnell said a makeshift memorial had been set up outside the home, with teddy bears and family photos. A notebook for people to leave messages was there.  “And one of the first messages I noticed this morning is from a classmate, who said that they were sorry they weren’t going to see them in school this year.”  The incident started as an “active shooter” 911 call Sunday at 6:01 p.m., according to a timeline released by the Billings Police Department.  The first officer arrived at 6:12 p.m. and heard shots from the back of the house, the department said. By 6:15 p.m., the house was engulfed in smoke. At 6:48 p.m., first responders transported Alan Smith to the hospital, where he later died.  The scene at 315 White Star Circle remained under investigation Wednesday, with the block closed to media and other non-residential traffic.  The site is expected to remain blocked off for several more days, police said. The case is being investigated by the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, with help from the Billings Police Department and state and federal agencies.  O’Donnell clarified that, contrary to rumors on social media, first responders were not shot at; Smith was not an ex-boyfriend or ex-husband of any of the victims, but rather a family member; and the house was not a “drug house” but “your typical American household family.” Investigators believe multiple fires were started inside the home. Because it is located outside of city limits, firefighters didn’t have fire hydrants to use and had to “haul in truckloads of water,” O’Donnell said. That slowed the fight against the fire, as did the fact that police had to ensure the scene was safe before firefighters could start working.   The community response has been quick. Online fundraisers to pay for funerals, counseling and other costs collected more than $100,000 in their first day. A meal train calendar shows dinners are planned for surviving family members for more than two weeks.  Landon Ghekiere was set to start his sophomore year at Senior High School, according to Jennifer Mercer, who organized one of the GoFundMe accounts to benefit his surviving parents.  “He was looking forward to getting his driver’s license this week and was a patient, protective, and loving brother,” Mercer wrote on the online fundraiser.  His sister, Charlotte, 12, was going into seventh grade. Mercer described her as “funny, precocious, and adorable — with just the right amount of stubborn.” Mercer said Charlotte liked upending rocks to look for bugs.  “Oh, how she loved her bugs!” Mercer wrote.  The Youth Peace Justice Foundation, a national nonprofit that focuses on violence prevention and healing, said it would posthumously honor Charlotte Ghekiere with its National Heroism Award for placing the 911 call that alerted authorities to the shooting.  The nonprofit was formed after the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.  The foundation is also offering a free crisis hotline at (254) 499-8027 to anyone affected by the tragedy. It is staffed by people trained in crisis response, including peer student volunteers as young as 13. The hotline can refer callers to licensed counselors.  O’Donnell thanked the Billings Police Department and several other law enforcement and firefighting agencies for their help. He said the agencies were quick to provide support. The Billings Police Department command staff was on scene quickly and helping, even as Chief Rich St. John was texting O’Donnell to ask how to help.  The shooting Sunday is the second mass shooting in Montana since last year. In August of 2025, a gunman killed four people at the Owl Bar in Anaconda.  This story was updated on August 26, 2026 at 1:55 p.m. In-depth, independent reporting on the stories impacting your community from reporters who know your town. The post ‘A tragic loss’: Authorities release details of Billings shooting that killed 8 family members appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less