Family Dinner Ends in Horror as Montana Shooting Leaves 8 Dead

(Scene of The Incident. Photo by ABC7 News)

A family gathering turned deadly in Billings, Montana when a man opened fire on his relatives during their weekly Sunday dinner.

Eight people died in the shooting and fire that followed, including four children and the shooter’s own parents.

The suspect, 44-year-old Alan Smith, took his own life as police arrived at the scene.

The victims ranged from a great-grandmother in her 90s to a seven-year-old girl.

Smith’s ex-wife and their two children were among those killed, along with her two stepchildren from her current marriage.

Smith’s parents had asked him to leave their home just weeks earlier, but he returned Sunday evening with a gun.

After the shooting, the house erupted in flames.

By the time firefighters battled the blaze, the entire structure was consumed, complicating investigators’ work.

The subdivision lacked fire hydrants, slowing emergency response.

A twelve-year-old girl managed to call 911 during the attack and tried to save her family.

Her bravery stood out to investigators and those close to the family.

The family had relocated from the Seattle area to Montana years ago.

Smith’s parents had lived in Washington for over two decades before moving to be near their daughter.

Smith himself had moved in with them but lived as a recluse, spending most of his time in his room.

He had attended college but couldn’t hold down steady work.

Relatives said there were warning signs that people had raised with authorities, but nothing was done.

No criminal record existed for Smith in either state.

This was the 22nd mass killing across the United States this year.

More than half stemmed from domestic conflicts within families, well above the historical average.

It ranks as the deadliest shooting since April, when another incident in Louisiana killed eight people.

A man killed eight of his relatives, including four children, as they gathered for Sunday dinner at a home in Billings, Montana, just weeks after his parents forced him to move out, a family member told The Associated Press.https://t.co/GFca21ApjA pic.twitter.com/DG7GIjY8FP

— ABC News (@ABC) August 26, 2026