{"id":7444,"date":"2026-08-26T11:06:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T11:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7444"},"modified":"2026-08-26T11:06:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T11:06:24","slug":"mom-of-two-children-who-were-among-8-family-members-killed-in-montana-house-massacre-speaks-out-about-honoring-slain-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7444","title":{"rendered":"Mom of two children who were among 8 family members killed in Montana house massacre speaks out about ‘honoring’ slain kids"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The 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 \u201chonoring\u201d her slain kids.<\/p>\n

Read more Hochul\u2019s ban on cops working with ICE is an attack on public safety<\/a><\/p>\n

Erica Schneider\u2019s biological children, Landon and Charlotte Ghekiere, were caught up in madman Alan Smith\u2019s rampage when he opened fire on his relatives at the Billings, Mt., home before setting the property alight and turning the weapon on himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The ages of Smith\u2019s victims, a blended family, ranged from 7 to 92.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo my family, friends, and strangers; thank you for the continued support you have given to myself, Danny [her current husband], and [her ex-husband] Adam [Ghekiere],\u201d she wrote on Facebook Tuesday, addressing the shooting for the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are beyond appreciative of you all and hope to have your help with honoring the lives of Landon, Charlotte, and the Smith family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Landon, 15, and Charlotte, 12, were killed in a \u201csenseless act of violence,\u201d their family said in a fundraiser created for Schneider.<\/p>\n

Landon was preparing to start his senior year at Billings\u2019 Senior High School and was set to get his driver\u2019s license this week before he was gunned down.<\/p>\n

He was described as a \u201cpatient, protective and loving big brother,\u201d while sister Charlotte, who was set to move into the seventh grade, had an \u201cangelic smile\u201d and a passion for exploring for bugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese two precious children leave behind a hole that is impossible to comprehend, along with a family facing unimaginable grief,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

Charlotte Ghekiere \u201ctried to save her family\u201d by calling 911 from inside the home, family friend Jennifer Mercer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing we do know is that Charlotte was the hero,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Landon and Charlotte\u2019s stepmom, Megan Ghekiere, her biological children 7-year-old Chloe Ireland, and 13-year-old Owen Ireland, Alan Smith\u2019s parents, Dana and Barb, and his 92-year-old grandmother, Evelyn Smith, were also identified as victims.<\/p>\n

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Megan \u2014 Alan Smith\u2019s younger sister \u2014 was killed less than a year into her marriage to Adam Ghekiere, having tied the knot in October 2025. It\u2019s not clear when Adam divorced Schneider.<\/p>\n

Adam, an airport rescue firefighter, was working when he heard about an incident that was unfolding where his in-laws lived.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried calling the house and no one answered,\u201d he told the Sun. \u201cI checked my kids\u2019 locations, both Landon and Charlotte, and no one answered. I called Megan\u2019s cellphone too.<\/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. I feared the worst right then. I don\u2019t think the shooter expected my kids to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and took his own life before cops could arrest him<\/p>\n

Brad Ireland, who is Chloe and Owen\u2019s father and Smith\u2019s former brother-in-law, has since described the shooter as a \u201chermit\u201d who spent most of his days alone on a computer.<\/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

\n<\/div>\n

He had lived with his parents at their Billings home before they asked him to move out a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n

Smith then turned up uninvited and carried out the shooting at around 6 p.m. Sunday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Giants trade Josh Ezeudu to Chiefs for 2028 seventh-round pick<\/a><\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Erica Schneider\u2019s biological children, Landon and Charlotte Ghekiere, were caught up in madman Alan Smith\u2019s rampage in Billings, Montana, on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMom of two children who were among 8 family members killed in Montana house massacre speaks out about 'honoring' slain kids - 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=7444\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mom of two children who were among 8 family members killed in Montana house massacre speaks out about 'honoring' slain kids - 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