Police were searching a remote region of western Montana on Saturday for a military veteran who they claim killed four people when he opened fire at a pub.
According to Lee Johnson, administrator of the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, which is in charge of the case, 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown abandoned the white pickup truck he was driving when he exited The Owl Bar in the little town of Anaconda. Late Friday, he sent a high-alert and stay-at-home message to the populace.
Authorities published a picture of the suspect on Saturday, strolling down what looked to be a set of outdoor concrete steps without a shirt or shoes. The Division of Criminal Investigation said the image showed Brown running away after the incident Friday while wearing black shorts.
“While law enforcement has not received reports of Brown harming any other individuals, he is believed to be armed, and he is extremely dangerous,” Johnson stated.
Once all of the victims’ families have been informed, authorities said they will make the victims’ names public.
“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 stated.
Mountains enclose Anaconda, which is located roughly 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Butte. In the late 1800s, copper barons who made money from neighboring mines established the town, which now has 9,000 residents. The valley is overshadowed by an abandoned smelting stack.
Owner David Gwerder, who wasn’t present when the incident occurred on Friday morning, stated that Brown resided next door to The Owl Bar. The bartender and three customers were killed, and Gwerder told The Associated Press that he didn’t believe anyone else was inside. Additionally, he stated that he was not aware of any disputes that existed between Brown and any of the victims.
“Everyone at that bar was someone he knew. “I promise you that,” Gwerder uttered. “He had no ongoing conflicts with any of them. I simply believe he lost it.
According to Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, Brown was an armor crewman in the U.S. Army from 2001 to 2005 and was deployed to Iraq from early 2004 to March 2005. According to Castro, Brown served in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to March 2009. He was a sergeant when he quit the military.
Clare Boyle, Brown’s niece, told the AP on Friday that she and her other family members have sought help on numerous occasions and that her uncle has battled mental illness for years.
She stated, “This isn’t just a drunk/high man going wild,” in a Facebook post. “It’s a sick man who doesn’t know who he is sometimes and frequently doesn’t know where or when he is either.”
Authorities gathered on the Stumptown Road area west of Anaconda by air and land on Friday, closing it down so no one could enter or exit, since they could find no evidence of Brown in the white pickup or his house. Randy Clark, a retired police officer who lives in the area, said that a helicopter hovered above a nearby mountainside while policemen moved amid the woods.
According to Montana’s DCI spokesperson Chase Scheuer, the search went on Saturday morning.
Business owners shut their doors and took cover inside with their patrons as word of the shooting circulated throughout the town earlier Friday.
After learning about the shooting from a friend, the proprietor of the Firefly Caf in Anaconda claimed to have closed up her establishment.
“Guns are nothing new to us because we’re Montana,” Barbie Nelson remarked. “For our town to be locked down, everybody’s pretty rattled.”
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