Authorities in western Montana are intensifying a manhunt for a former U.S. Army soldier suspected of fatally shooting four people at a local bar.
The shooting occurred early Friday at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, a small town nestled in the mountains about 25 miles northwest of Butte. The suspect, Michael Paul Brown, 45, reportedly fled the scene in a white pickup truck, which was later abandoned, News.Az reports, citing AP News.
Law enforcement, including ground units and aerial surveillance, has locked down the Stumptown Road area west of Anaconda in search of Brown, who is considered armed and extremely dangerous.
“While we have no reports of Brown harming others since the shooting, he is believed to be armed, and he is extremely dangerous,” said Lee Johnson, head of Montana’s Division of Criminal Investigation.
Residents were urged to stay home and remain on high alert. The names of the victims will be released after their families have been notified.
“This is a small, tight-knit community that has been harmed by the heinous actions of one individual who does not represent what this community or Montanans stand for,” Johnson added.
Bar owner David Gwerder confirmed that the victims included a bartender and three patrons, all of whom Brown likely knew.
“He didn’t have any running dispute with any of them. I just think he snapped,” Gwerder told the Associated Press.
Brown lived next door to the bar and had no known recent conflicts with the victims, Gwerder said.
According to military records, Brown served in the U.S. Army from 2001 to 2005, including a deployment to Iraq. He later joined the Montana National Guard until 2009, leaving the service with the rank of sergeant.
Family members revealed that Brown had long struggled with mental illness. His niece, Clare Boyle, described him as a man in crisis.
“This isn’t just a drunk/high man going wild,” Boyle wrote on Facebook. “It’s a sick man who doesn’t know who he is sometimes.”
The shooting has deeply unsettled Anaconda, a historic mining town of around 9,000 residents. Local businesses quickly went into lockdown as word of the incident spread.
“We are Montana, so guns are not new to us,” said Barbie Nelson, owner of Firefly Café. “But for our town to be locked down, everybody’s pretty rattled.”
The investigation and search efforts are ongoing. Authorities ask anyone with information about Brown’s whereabouts to contact law enforcement immediately.
