Multiple people are dead, including children, after what authorities believe to have started out as a “family disturbance” ended with shots fired and a home engulfed in flames in Billings, Montana.
Authorities responded to a 911 call at 6:01 p.m. local time on Sunday, Aug. 23, the Billings Police Department said. Dispatchers on the call heard gunfire in the background, officials said at a news conference. Officers first arrived on the scene about 11 minutes later and heard more gunshots, Assistant Chief of Police Shawn Mayo said.
As officers approached, they saw a male in the backyard and took him into custody. He was taken to the hospital with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound and died, officials said.
While officers were responding, the home became fully engulfed in a fire, prompting response from the Billings Fire Department. The combination of the flames and the unsecured scene with reports of gunfire prevented authorities from being able to rescue or recover victims.
Multiple adults and multiple children are dead, Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O’Donnell said. Authorities said they are not yet releasing the number of victims, their ages, genders or relationship to one another. There are multiple victims and a suspect, who have all been identified, O’Donnell said.
A motive was not revealed by authorities.
There is no ongoing threat to the public, Mayo said. Neighborhood residents who were initially evacuated from the area were allowed back into their homes.
More information is expected to be released on Aug. 26 after authorities have had time to assess the crime scene, which was still unstable the day after the incident, officials said.
“Our thoughts are with the families, loved ones, and all those impacted during this incredibly difficult time,” the police department said in a statement.
Billings, in southern Montana, has about 121,000 residents.