Girl, 12, hailed as a hero for calling 911 during deadly Montana family shooting

27 Aug 2026 • 8:09 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Girl, 12, hailed as a hero for calling 911 during deadly Montana family shooting

  • Twelve-year-old Charlotte Ghekiere was hailed as a hero after calling 911 to try to save her family during a mass shooting outside Billings, Montana.
  • The tragedy claimed the lives of eight victims, including Charlotte, her brother Landon, her stepmother Megan, her step-siblings Chloe and Owen, and her relatives Dana, Barbara, and Evelyn Smith.
  • Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O'Donnell identified the gunman as 44-year-old Alan Michael Smith, a relative of the victims who had recently been asked to move out of the home.
  • Police confronted Smith at the scene before he fled inside, set the home on fire, and died from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound.
  • A GoFundMe campaign was created to assist with funeral expenses as neighbors and classmates established a memorial near the site of the attack.

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