4 killed in shooting at Montana bar, manhunt launched for gunman
The suspect, identified as 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, lives next door and was last seen in a nearby neighbourhood
A shooting at a Montana bar left four people dead on Friday, prompting a lockdown in a neighbourhood several miles away as authorities searched for the suspect in a wooded area.
The shooting happened around 10.30am 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, according to public records. 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, locking it down so no one was allowed in or out. A helicopter also hovered over a nearby mountainside as officers moved among the trees, said Randy Clark, a retired police officer who lives there.
Brown was believed to be armed, the Montana Highway Patrol said in a statement.
As reports of the shooting spread through town, business owners locked their doors and sheltered inside with customers.