Manhunt intensifies for suspect in Montana bar mass shooting

A manhunt is intensifying for the gunman who allegedly killed a bartender and three patrons at a bar in southwestern Montana, authorities said.

Michael Paul Brown allegedly opened fire around 10:30 a.m. local time Friday at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, a city of about 9,000 people in southwestern Montana, according to the Montana Department of Justice.

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Brown lived next door to the bar and was not a stranger to the area and establishment, authorities said.

He fled the scene and is believed to be armed and dangerous, Lee Johnson with the Montana Department of Justice said.

Brown was in the Army from 2001 to 2005 and the National Guard from 2006 to 2008, an Army spokesperson said. He spent one year deployed in Iraq and left the service in the rank of sergeant, the Army said.

Police said they found the 2007 white Ford F-150 pickup that Brown was last seen driving on Friday, but Brown remains at large.

Numerous local, state and federal agencies are searching the area via ground and air, authorities said.

“Residents of the area have been notified and are encouraged to stay inside their homes and on high alert,” Johnson said.

Authorities haven’t said what led up to the shooting at the bar or a possible motive.

The shooting sparked a large law enforcement presence, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which sent agents to the scene.

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said on social media on Friday that he was “closely monitoring the situation involving an active shooter in Anaconda” and asked for prayers for the victims.