Overview
- Authorities confirmed that eight people — four adults and four children — were killed at a family gathering at a home outside Billings, Montana.
- Reporting and family members identified the suspected shooter as 44-year-old Alan Smith, who was later taken to a hospital and reported to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
- The attack began during a family dinner on Sunday, Aug. 23, and officials say a 12-year-old inside the house placed a 911 call while the home was set on fire.
- Firefighters delayed interior rescue because officers heard active gunfire when they arrived and the subdivision is not required to have fire hydrants, and the blaze later left the structure unsafe for quick evidence recovery.
- A multi-agency investigation is underway with autopsies and an arson inquiry in progress, officials have withheld formal releases pending those steps, and family reports note ties to the Seattle area and that the suspect had recently been asked to move out.