UPDATED AT 12:30 P.M., AUG. 2: Authorities are conducting a search in a mountainous area west of Anaconda for a military veteran suspected of opening fire at a bar, killing four individuals.
On Saturday, authorities released an image showing the suspect, barefoot and shirtless, descending what appears to be outdoor concrete steps. The photo captures Brown in black shorts fleeing post the Friday shooting, as stated by the Division of Criminal Investigation.
Four fatalities occurred following a shooting at Anaconda’s Owl Bar around 10:30 a.m. on Friday. Law enforcement continues to search for suspect Michael Paul Brown as of late Friday night.
“As of ten o’clock tonight Brown remains at large. Law enforcement has located the white Ford F-150 that Brown fled the scene in. However, Brown was not located in or around the vehicle. Authorities are now focusing their search on the mountains near Stumptown Road just west of Anaconda,” Division of Criminal Investigation Administrator Lee Johnson announced in a Friday release.
Public records and bar owner David Gwerder confirm Brown, 45, resided next to the shooting site.
The incident claimed the lives of a bartender and three patrons, according to Gwerder, who was absent during the shooting. He noted no known disputes existed between Brown and the victims.
“He knew everybody that was in that bar. I guarantee you that,” Gwerder shared. “He didn’t have any running dispute with any of them. I just think he snapped.”
A SWAT team cleared Brown’s home, and he was last reported in Stump Town, west of Anaconda. Over a dozen officers from local and state police locked down the area, preventing entry and exit. A helicopter aided officers moving through the trees, retired officer Randy Clark reported.
The Montana Highway Patrol indicated Brown is believed to be armed.
At a 10 p.m. press conference Friday held outside the bar, Johnson advised Anaconda residents to exercise caution.
“While law enforcement has not received reports of Brown harming any other individuals, he is believed to be armed, and he is extremely dangerous. Residents in the area have been notified and are encouraged to stay inside their homes and on high alert,” Johnson stated.
The victims’ names remain undisclosed pending family notification.
Brown’s military record shows he served as an armor crewman in the U.S. Army from 2001-2005, with an Iraq deployment from early 2004 to March 2005, according to Lt. Col. Ruth Castro. He was with the Montana National Guard from 2006 to March 2009, leaving as a sergeant.
His niece, Clare Boyle, shared that Brown has long struggled with mental health issues and the family has sought help numerous times.
“This isn’t just a drunk/high man going wild,” she communicated via Facebook. “It’s a sick man who doesn’t know who he is sometimes and frequently doesn’t know where or when he is either.”
As news of the shooting spread, local business owners closed their doors, seeking safety with customers inside.
Barbie Nelson, owner of Firefly Café, locked her business at about 11 a.m. Friday after learning of the shooting, and awaited clearance before reopening.
“We are Montana, so guns are not new to us. For our town to be locked down, everybody’s pretty rattled,” Nelson expressed.
“It’s a small town, so we all probably know someone who was there” at the shooting, she added.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tweeted at 1:20 p.m. Friday that its Denver office is responding to the Anaconda shooting.
Governor Greg Gianforte expressed concern on X, noting he is closely monitoring the active shooter situation and encouraging prayers for all involved.
Mass killings are rare in Montana’s history, defined by the FBI as incidents with at least four victims. In 2015, a man in an off-grid cabin near Anaconda killed his wife and children before taking his own life, according to Reuters. This remains the only Montana incident in a mass killings database maintained by Northeastern University.
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