{"id":7431,"date":"2026-08-26T07:36:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T07:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7431"},"modified":"2026-08-26T07:36:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T07:36:14","slug":"montana-gunman-who-massacred-8-family-members-idd-as-possible-motive-revealed-many-red-flags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7431","title":{"rendered":"Montana gunman who massacred 8 family members ID’d as possible motive revealed: ‘Many red flags’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The gunman who massacred eight family members, including four children, during their weekly dinner at a Montana home he then torched has been identified as the adult son of the homeowners \u2014 who ordered him to move out weeks earlier, according to relatives.<\/p>\n

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The mass shooter was identified as Alan Smith, a 44-year-old \u201chermit\u201d who previously lived in the home with his parents and spent most of his days alone on a computer, according to Brad Ireland, whose ex-wife and two children were among those killed in the shocking rampage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were many red flags and many people spoke out,\u201d said Ireland, who lives in Arizona. \u201cNo one listened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith, who attended Eastern Washington University, had been unable to hold down a job and followed his parents from Seattle to Montana after his sister was the first to relocate to the state. He spent nearly all his time alone in his room, according to Ireland. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo one knew what he did in there 24\/7,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Smith had lived with his parents at their Billings, Montana home for several years before they asked him to move out a couple weeks ago, according to his former brother-in-law.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, he showed up unannounced while his relatives gathered for their weekly dinner and opened fire around 6 p.m. \u2014 killing both his parents, Dana and Barbara Smith; his\u00a092-year-old wheelchair-bound\u00a0grandmother Evelyn Smith; his sister Megan Ghekiere and his nieces and nephews before setting the home on fire, officials and Ireland said.<\/p>\n

As emergency services rushed to the scene, Smith turned the gun on himself before police could take him into custody.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ireland\u2019s ex-wife, Megan Ghekiere, and his two children, Chloe Ireland, 7, and Owen Ireland, 13, were killed, as were Megan\u2019s stepchildren, Charlotte Ghekiere, 12, and Landon Ghekiere, 15, according to both the fathers.<\/p>\n

Read more Rutgers University dean caught filming \u2018upskirt\u2019 videos: \u2018extremely disturbing charges\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Charlotte and Landon\u2019s dad, Adam Ghekiere \u2014 who is Megan\u2019s current husband \u2014 said the killer likely didn\u2019t think his kids would be at the home when he showed up Sunday because the family usually gathered for dinner on Fridays.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think he expected my kids to be there,\u201d Ghekiere said, referring to his brother-in-law. \u201cMonster isn\u2019t even enough to describe what he did.\u201d<\/p>\n

The heartbroken dad was working as a rescue firefighter at an airshow when he heard about the shooting while listening to a communication system and realized it was at his in-laws\u2019 place,\u00a0he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the time we got to the house, they wouldn\u2019t let us get any closer because it was still under an active shooter status,\u201d Ghekiere told the US Sun.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI feared the worst right then,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Police confirmed that his daughter Charlotte was the one who called 911 from inside the home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI keep hearing her quote to me every time I would say \u2018I love you\u2019 and she would say \u2018I love you more,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Family friend and neighbor\u00a0Jennifer Mercer called the young girl a hero.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing we do know is that Charlotte was the hero,\u201d Mercer said. \u201cCharlotte called 911 and she tried to save her family. And that\u2019s something the family does want out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Post wires\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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The mass shooter was identified as Alan Smith, according to Brad Ireland, whose ex-wife and two children were among those killed in the shocking rampage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMontana gunman who massacred 8 family members ID'd as possible motive revealed: 'Many red flags' - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7431\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Montana gunman who massacred 8 family members ID'd as possible motive revealed: 'Many red flags' - 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