A quiet Montana town is in shock after a deadly shooting left four people dead inside a local bar Friday morning.
The shooting happened around 10:30 a.m. at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, a small town in western Montana. According to state investigators, four people were killed at the scene. Police have identified the suspect as 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown.
Brown lived next door to the bar. Officers say he fled after the shooting and was last seen in the nearby Stump Town area, a wooded stretch just west of Anaconda. SWAT teams searched his home and cleared it, but he wasn’t there.
Authorities say Brown is armed and dangerous. A massive search is underway, with local and state officers combing the woods for any sign of him.
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The Montana Highway Patrol confirmed the deaths and said they’re working with other agencies to find the suspect fast.
Anaconda is a town of about 9,000 people, located roughly 75 miles southeast of Missoula. It sits in a valley surrounded by mountains. Once a booming mining town, Anaconda still carries signs of its copper industry past. A huge, old smelter still stands above the town.
Residents say nothing like this has happened in years.
Barbie Nelson, who runs the Firefly Café in Anaconda, said the town felt completely shaken. She locked her café around 11 a.m. after hearing about the shooting from a friend and waited for updates like everyone else.
Two hours later, she was still waiting to hear if it was safe to reopen.
“We are Montana, so guns are not new to us,” Nelson said. “But for our town to be locked down, everybody’s pretty rattled.”
She added, “It’s a small town, so we all probably know someone who was there.”
Officials have not released the names of the victims, and no motive has been shared yet.
Police have asked anyone in the area to stay inside and report anything suspicious. They’ve also warned people not to approach the suspect if they see him.
As of Friday afternoon, the search was still active. Helicopters and K9 teams were reportedly involved.
Featured image via Screengrab
