12-Year-Old Charlotte Ghekiere's Daughter Alarm Sets Off Chaos in Montana Family Tragedy
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Charlotte Ghekiere, 12, raised the alarm Sunday evening when Alan Smith — her stepmom’s “hermit” brother — opened fire on his family that had gathered at the Billings home for dinner. He then torched the property and took his own life.
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Ghekiere said police confirmed his daughter, Charlotte, was the one who dialed 911 from inside the house.
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New York PostCharlotte Ghekiere “tried to save her family” by calling 911 from inside the home, family friend Jennifer Mercer said.
Washington ExaminerCharlotte Ghekiere, the suspect’s 12-year-old niece and one of the victims, had called 911 from inside the house as the shooting unfolded, according to family members. Her father, Adam Ghekiere, was working at the time and went to the home after hearing reports of an active shooting over a dispatch radio.
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That’s where she met Adam Ghekiere, who was working and not at the home when the massacre unfolded.
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NBC NewsThat’s where she met the man who would become her second husband, Adam Ghekiere, who was working and not at the home when the shooting occurred.
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“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 Sun.
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The home was engulfed in flames when he arrived and two hours later, he was told the crushing news his wife and children had died.
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NBC NewsWhen he got there, the house was ablaze, and two hours later, he learned his wife and children had been killed. His children weren’t supposed to be there because family dinner was usually on Friday, he said.
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Eight members of a Montana family, including four children, were killed after a man opened fire during a family dinner before the home was set on fire and the suspect fatally shot himself.
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NBC NewsA man killed eight of his relatives, including four children, as they gathered for dinner at a Montana home, weeks after his parents asked him to move out, a family member said.
New York PostThe grieving Montana mother of two children who were among eight family members killed in a mass home shooting and fire as they gathered for Sunday dinner has spoken out about “honoring” her slain kids.
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Brad Ireland, whose former wife and two children were among the dead, identified the shooter as 44-year-old Alan Smith. Smith’s parents, who were also killed, had asked him to move out, but he returned on Sunday and opened fire just outside of Billings, Ireland said.
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Washington ExaminerSmith, 44, was identified by a relative and lived with his parents for years before he was asked to move out. Smith returned to the home Sunday and opened fire, according to Brad Ireland, whose former wife and two children were among those killed, the Associated Press reported. The victims included Smith’s parents, grandmother, and sister.
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Authorities responded shortly after 6 p.m. to reports of a family disturbance and gunfire at the home. Officers heard additional shots after arriving and saw smoke coming from the residence. The home was engulfed in flames minutes later.
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NBC NewsGunshots followed by an inferno Police responded to the home on Sunday evening and heard gunshots coming from out back, just before the house was completely engulfed in flames.
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The investigation has been complicated by concerns about the structural integrity of the house after the fire burned it to its foundation, said Jeff Stovall, a spokesperson for the Billings Police Department.
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Washington ExaminerThe Billings Police Department said the fire severely damaged and complicated investigators’ efforts to process the scene. Firefighters initially had to wait for law enforcement to secure the area before approaching the home. The subdivision sits outside Billings city limits and was not required to have fire hydrants.
5 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 New York Post A 14-year-old Georgia girl murdered her mom — shooting her in the back of the head when she was in bed — after chickening out of a planned school shooting “inspired” by mass killers.
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02 Washington Examiner The shooting unfolded Sunday at a home outside Billings, where members of suspected gunman Alan Smith’s family were gathered for a weekly dinner. The victims ranged in age from a 7-year-old girl to a great-grandmother in her 90s.
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03 NBC News The victims represented four generations of the blended family, ranging from a great-grandmother in her 90s who used a wheelchair to a 7-year-old girl, according to Jennifer Mercer, a neighbor and family friend who set up an online fundraiser to help cover funeral costs and other expenses, and was authorized to release these details.
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04 Washington Times A Pennsylvania mother is demanding answers after a police officer fatally shot her 22-year-old son, a college baseball player who his family says was unarmed, after he mistakenly went to a stranger’s house believing it belonged to a friend.
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05 HuffPost A grieving Ohio family has asked Republicans to take down a TV ad blaming a Democratic Senate candidate for a fatal car accident.
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Sources (5)
- huffpost
- nypost
- nbc
- washexaminer
- washtimes