Police have told residents to stay home and not approach the suspect, who could be ‘armed and dangerous’.
A manhunt is under way for a former United States soldier suspected of carrying out a shooting in a bar in the US state of Montana, which has left four people dead.
The shooting happened on Friday at about 10:30am (16:30 GMT) at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, with four people pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.
The suspect has been identified as 45-year-old military veteran Michael Paul Brown. Brown lived next door to the bar, according to public records and owner David Gwerder.
Gwerder, who was not there at the time of the incident, said a bartender and three patrons were killed before Brown fled the scene.
“He knew everybody that was in that bar. I guarantee you that,” Gwerder said. “He didn’t have any running dispute with any of them. I just think he snapped.”
Brown’s home in Anaconda – a town of about 9,000 people, located in southwest Montana about 109 miles (175km) west of the city of Bozeman – was cleared by a SWAT team.
Montana Senator Steve Daines said a “massive manhunt” is under way, aided by drones.
Authorities said Brown was last seen in the Stump Town area, just west of Anaconda, and he is “believed to be armed and dangerous”.
He should not be approached if seen, the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center said in a social media post, while Anaconda residents have been instructed to stay home and lock their doors.
More than a dozen police officers have converged on Stump Town, locking it down so no one is allowed in or out as police search for Brown in a wooded, mountainous area.
Randy Clark, a retired police officer who lives in the area, said a police helicopter hovered over a nearby mountainside as officers moved among the trees.
A US army spokesperson said Brown served as an armour crewman from 2001 to 2005 and was deployed to Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005. Brown was also in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to 2009.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said in a social media post that he was “closely monitoring the situation involving an active shooter in Anaconda”.
Our hearts are with the community of Anaconda, Montana, where four lives were lost in a senseless bar shooting.
Law enforcement is actively searching for the suspect, Michael Paul Brown, who remains at large and is considered armed and dangerous. We stand with the brave officers… pic.twitter.com/nHmlib8D2o
— National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) (@GLFOP) August 1, 2025