A madman gunned down at least eight people — including four children — inside a suburban Montana home before he set it ablaze and then turned the gun on himself in a “family disturbance,” police have revealed.
The well-kempt home on White Star Circle in Billings was nearly burned to the ground in the grisly massacre just after 6 p.m. Sunday.
Two of the slain children have been identified as 12-year-old Charlotte Gheikere and her 15-year-old brother Landon. Their father, Adam Ghekiere, told The US Sun that his wife, Megan, also died.
Megan’s two children, 7-year-old Chloe and 13-year-old Owen, were also killed, according to a fundraising page identifying them.
The children’s 92-year-old wheelchair-bound great-grandma also died.
Ghekiere, an airport rescue firefighter, told the outlet he was working when he heard over the department’s communications system that an incident was unfolding where his in-laws live.
“I tried calling the house and no one answered,” he said. “I checked my kids’ locations, both Landon and Charlotte, and no one answered. I called Megan’s cellphone too.
“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.”
“I don’t think the shooter expected my kids to be there,” he said.
He claimed the tragedy unfolded after a family member started holding a grudge against his parents.
Landon was remembered on a GoFundMe page as a “loving, caring young man who was always willing to lend a hand to his family and neighbors.”
His sister was “preparing to begin seventh grade” and “had an angelic smile and loved posing for pictures,” the page reads.
Cops were called to the house in Billings just after 6 p.m. Sunday following reports of a shooting.
Officers rushed to the scene and heard gunfire erupt from the back of the house, according to police.
They saw a man in the backyard of the already-smoking house, and then heard more shots ring out.
Just three minutes later, the home was engulfed in flames, severely hampering rescue efforts, according to Billings Police Department Assistant Chief Shawn Mayo.
“When the fire was observed in the structure, fire suppression efforts took priority as the fire blocked any reasonable attempt to rescue or recover victims,” Mayo told a news conference Monday.
“Multiple adults and multiple juveniles” died at the house, interim Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O’Donnell told the same conference, adding that the identities of the victims will not be released for now.
“Because of the fire and obviously water that goes to suppress that fire, it’s going to slow our investigation of the crime scene recovery of evidence. So we ask for patience as we complete this investigation,” he said.
All of the victims perished at the scene, while the suspected killer died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after being taken to a local hospital at around 6:48 p.m., according to authorities.
Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office told CBS News that “the initial investigation shows that this event started as a family disturbance and was not a random act of violence where the parties were unknown to each other,” adding that “there is no further danger to the public.”
A 911 dispatch call obtained by The Post revealed harrowing details from the tragic scene.
“We have a situation going on with shots being fired,” the 911 dispatcher from Yellowstone County is heard saying in the Sunday evening recording.
The dispatcher says a fire engine is “staged in the area,” and a request for “another engine” was made to the house.
“There is also going to be an unconscious child inside of the home,” the dispatcher says, before another voice asks if there were any “GSWs” or “gunshot wounds” on the minor.
“Unconfirmed at this time. Just noted that it was unconscious,” the dispatcher responds, noting that she doesn’t know whether the kid was breathing.
Gunshots could also reportedly be heard in the background of a 911 call.
Witness Dave Hiller told KTVQ News that “you could hear a couple gunshots going off, and then I looked out front and the house was on fire.”
“There was smoke just pluming from the house,” Hiller said.
Another press conference is scheduled for Wednesday at which more information will be provided about the victims and the possible motives, the Billings Police Department told The Post.
The Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office told The Post that “detectives are still on scene and are still recovering the bodies of the victims.”
The Yellowstone County Coroner’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.