Authorities could hear gunshots in the background of the 911 call on Sunday, Aug. 23, according to a report
Credit: KTVQ News/Youtube
NEED TO KNOW
- Multiple adults and children were killed after a gunman opened fire at a Billings, Montana, home on Sunday, Aug. 23
- The home was also set alight and burned to the ground
- A man, who appeared to have a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was taken into custody before being hospitalized and later pronounced dead
Multiple people, including children, have died after a gunman opened fire at their home before it went up in flames in Montana, according to reports.
On Sunday, Aug. 23, officers from the Billings Police Department responded to a call characterized as a family disturbance in the 300 block of White Star Circle at 6:01 p.m. local time, according to NBC News.
Gunshots could be heard in the background of the phone call, and authorities arrived at the residence in about 10 minutes.
Gunfire was heard from the back of the house, and within three minutes, the property had gone up in flames, per the outlet.
Credit: KTVQ News/Youtube
Multiple adults and multiple juveniles died in the house, Interim Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O’Donnell said in a news conference on Monday, Aug. 24, per NBC News.
The exact number of those killed, their names and their ages have not been released. The victims’ identities have not been publicly released.
“Unfortunately today’s press conference is on the heels of a tragedy for a Billings family and the community as a whole,” Billings Assistant Police Chief Shawn Mayo said in a press conference via KTVQ News.
A man was taken into custody and transported to the hospital with what appeared to be a “self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Mayo said. The suspect died, per NBC News and BNO News.
“You could hear a couple of gunshots going off, and then I looked out front, and the house was on fire, like three houses down. There was smoke just pluming from the house,” witness David Hiller told KTVQ News.
Footage of the scene obtained by the outlet shows the firefighters attempting to hose down the house, as a bright orange flame ripped through the residence.
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Another clip showed the home burned to the ground.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated. O’Donnell described it as a “very, very complex investigation” at the news conference.
The Billings Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for further information.
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