Police search in Montana mountains for man accused of killing 4 in bar shooting

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Law enforcement officials are searching for a 45-year-old man accused of walking into a Montana bar and opening fire, killing four people, on Aug. 1.

The manhunt for Michael Paul Brown continued in the mountains just west of Anaconda, where he is accused of fatally shooting a bartender and three patrons in the Owl Bar, according to state officials. After the shooting at 10:30 a.m., Brown, a U.S. Army veteran, allegedly fled the scene in his white Ford F-150 truck. He remained at large as of 10 p.m. on Aug. 1, Lee Johnson, administrator of the state Division of Criminal Investigation, said in a nighttime update.

Law enforcement later found Brown’s truck, though didn’t locate him, Johnson said. Officials are now focusing their search in a mountainous area near Stumptown Road.

Officials said they believe Brown is armed and dangerous, though added they haven’t received reports of him harming others. Residents in the rural area have been notified and told to stay inside their homes, Johnson said. He’s described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighs about 170 pounds, and has blue eyes and brown hair.

Brown was 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 an emailed statement. Brown served in the Montana National Guard from April 2006 to March 2009.

The Granite County Sheriff’s Office said Brown’s house, located next door to the bar, had been cleared by SWAT as they warned people to avoid the area. Local, state and federal officials are involved in the ongoing search and investigation.

“This is a small tight knit community that has been harmed by the heinous actions of one individual who does not represent what this community or Montanans stand for,” Johnson said.

This article was updated with new information.