2 Siblings and Stepmom Among 8 Found Dead in Burning Home After Tragic ‘Family Disturbance’ Call

A massacre in Montana killed 8 members of the same family including a woman and her two stepchildren

Siblings Landon and Charlotte, and Adam Ghekiere's wife, who were among multiple people killed in Billings, Montana after a gunman opened fire on their family house and then set it on fire
Siblings Landon and Charlotte (left); and Adam Ghekiere’s wife.Credit : GoFundMe (2)

NEED TO KNOW

  • Family members say 12-year-old Charlotte, 15-year-old Landon and their stepmother, who was not named, were killed on Sunday, Aug. 23 in a shooting
  • An officer responding to an active shooting incident at the house witnessed more shots being fired before the house was engulfed in fire
  • The suspected shooter in the incident died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds

Family members reeling from a devastating massacre that killed eight people in Montana have identified three of the victims as a pair of siblings and their stepmother.

Charlotte, 12, Landon, 15, and their stepmother were among the victims of a shooting spree at a Billings home over the weekend, according to separate GoFundMes set up for each of the children’s parents.

Authorities responding to a report of a “family disturbance” at the house on Sunday, Aug. 23 found multiple casualties, the Billings Police Department said in a statement on Monday.

A man was taken to the hospital, police said. According to investigators’ account cited by KULR 8, the man was identified as the suspect and died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds.

According to a GoFundMe set up for the children’s father Adam Ghekiere, his wife was among those killed. Neither the wife nor the children are named in that fundraiser, but the page linked out to a separate GoFundMe set up for the children’s mother where the kids are named.

According to a timeline provided by Billings police, an officer responded to a report of an active shooting a little after 6 p.m. on Sunday when they heard more shots fired from the back of the house. Within minutes, smoke was seen coming out of the house which was eventually “fully engulfed,” police said.

Siblings Landon and Charlotte were among multiple people killed in Billings, Montana after a gunman opened fire on their family house and then set it on fire
Landon (left); and Charlotte.GoFundMe (2)

In the fundraiser set up for the children’s mother and stepfather, family members said Landon was a “loving, caring young man who was always willing to lend a hand to his family and neighbors.” He was set to start sophomore year in high school and was excited to get his driver’s license.

He was a protective and patient brother to Charlotte, who is being remembered as “funny, precocious, and adorable—with just the right amount of stubborn.”

It wasn’t immediately clear how or if the suspect knew the victims, or if investigators have determined a possible motive behind the killings.

Billings police directed PEOPLE to the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, the lead investigating agency, for further information; the sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for further information.