Manhunt launched after 4 killed in a shooting at a Montana bar

ANACONDA, Mont. (AP) — Four people were killed in a shooting at a Montana bar Friday, authorities said as they launched a manhunt for the suspect.

The shooting happened around 10:30 a.m. on Friday at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, according to the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, which is leading the investigation. The agency confirmed four people were pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect, who was identified as 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, lived next door to the bar. Authorities said his home was cleared by a SWAT team and that he was last seen in the Stump Town area, which is just west of Anaconda.

More than a dozen officers from local and state police converged on that area, where they appeared to be searching for the suspect in the woods.

Brown was believed to be armed, the Montana Highway Patrol said in a statement.

Anaconda is about 75 miles southeast of Missoula in a valley hemmed in by mountains to the north and south. A town of about 9,000 people, it was founded by copper barons who profited off nearby mines in the late 1800s. A giant smelter that’s no longer operational looms over the town.

The owner of the Firefly Café in Anaconda said she locked up her business at about 11 a.m. Friday after getting alerted to the shooting by a friend. Two hours later, she was still waiting for an all clear before reopening.

“We are Montana, so guns are not new to us. For our town to be locked down, everybody’s pretty rattled,” café owner Barbie Nelson said.

“It’s a small town, so we all probably know someone who was there” at the shooting. she added.