Overview
- Authorities say responders were met with gunfire at a West End Billings home and the residence burned down with multiple adults and children killed.
- Law enforcement has identified everyone involved, including a suspect, but declined to release names or other identifying details while the inquiry continues.
- A man found outside the home with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound was taken to a hospital and later died, officials said.
- Firefighters’ suppression efforts were slowed by active gunfire and by a shortage of nearby hydrants that required water to be hauled by truck, though crews kept the blaze from spreading to neighboring houses.
- The cause of the fire remains undetermined and investigators from multiple agencies expect to continue forensic work over the next several days with more information to be released later in the week.