Police seek suspect who shot, killed 4 people in Montana bar
The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation identified the gunman in the shooting, which happened on Friday morning at the Owl Bar in Anaconda, Mont., as 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown.
Anaconda is 130 miles east of Idaho and 198 miles west of Bozeman, Mont..
"This is a small, tight-knit community that has been harmed by the heinous actions of one individual today who does not represent what this community or Montanans stand for," Lee Johnson, with the agency, said.
Johnson said his Ford F-150 pickup was found, and that officials were searching the mountains near Stumptown Road just west of Anaconda.
Residents of the town, of whom there are roughly 10,000, were told Friday night to stay in their homes and be vigilant because he was considered armed and dangerous.
SWAT team members cleared his home in neighboring Granite City, the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center said. The home is about 25 minutes from the bar.
"I've bartended quite a few years, so I'm pretty familiar with most everyone," Sierra, a 7 Gables employee, told KPAX-TV about Brown. "I have met him multiple times. I have served him multiple times. I have had conversations with him multiple times. I have not served him up here yet.
"We're waiting for the kitchen chef to be done so we can actually all leave together and so we all know each other made it safe."
Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting in the investigation and the FBI's Deputy Director posted on X that agents are being sent to the area to assist.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianfort also posted Friday on X that he was "closely monitoring the situation involving an active shooter in Anaconda."
Officials have identified the four victims have been identified, but they declined to release their names until their families had been notified.
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Authorities have identified the four victims fatally shot in a rural Montana bar as the manhunt for the suspected gunman, a former U.S. Army soldier, stretched into a third day. The suspect, 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, is accused of killing four people after opening fire at The Owl Bar on Aug. 1. The bar is located in the small town of Anaconda, Montana, about 105 miles southeast of Missoula. On Aug. 3, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen identified the victims as Nancy Lauretta Kelley, a 64-year-old bartender, and three bar patrons: Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59; David Allen Leach, 70, and Tony Wayne Palm, 74. All four were residents of Anaconda. In a news conference, Knudsen said Brown remains at large after fleeing the scene. The state attorney general added that Brown used a rifle in the shooting, which investigators believe was his personal weapon. Knudsen warned residents that the suspect could return to the area, reiterating that Brown is believed to be armed and dangerous. 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Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr. and Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Montana bar shooting victims named as search for suspect continues
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Brown served as an Army armor crewman from January 2001 to May 2005, which included a deployment to Iraq from February 2004 to March 2005, Army Maj. Dustin Ramos said in a statement to USA TODAY. He served in the Montana National Guard from April 2006 to March 2009. Brown was described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing about 170 pounds, and has blue eyes and brown hair, according to authorities. Knudsen said investigators learned that the suspect had access to firearms. On Aug. 2, the Montana Department of Justice released an image from surveillance footage showing the suspect fleeing from the scene while shirtless, wearing dark shorts and barefoot. During the Aug. 3 news conference, Knudsen said he believes that the image was captured "relatively soon after the crime was committed." After the shooting, Knudsen said the suspect went to another location and got rid of some personal belongings, including his clothes. 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