What’s known about the Anaconda, Mont. shooter, victims and ongoing search efforts
Montana Standard
A shooting at an Anaconda bar Friday left four people dead – a bartender and three patrons. The shooting suspect was still at large Sunday morning.
Authorities didn’t rule out the possibility that 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown had killed himself somewhere in the mountains west of Anaconda but said they were operating on the assumption he was still alive, armed and on the run.
“We’re going to catch this guy,” Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen told reporters outside the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Courthouse shortly after 10:30 a.m. Sunday. “This is still absolutely priority number one.”
Here is what else we know about the incident:
Where and when did the shooting take place?
According to the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, the incident occurred around 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Owl Bar on East 3rd Street in the Goosetown neighborhood of Anaconda.
Situated in southwest Montana, Anaconda is a town of about 9,800 people. It’s roughly 25 miles west of Butte and 80 miles southwest of Helena, Montana’s capital.
Who is the shooting suspect?
Law enforcement identified Michael Paul Brown as the suspected shooter.
Brown served in the U.S. Army from 2001 to 2005 and had been deployed at least once to Iraq. He was in the National Guard from 2006 to 2009 and his last known rank was sergeant.
He lived in a home next door to the Owl Bar, authorities said. According to an initial online records search, Brown is a 1998 high school graduate with no listed criminal record.
William Leonard Brown, a brother of Michael Brown, fatally stabbed a man in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County in 2000. He was sentenced in January 2002 to 100 years in prison and is now held at the Saguero Correctional Center, a private prison in Arizona, according to the Montana Department of Corrections.
Where was the suspect last seen?
As of Sunday morning, Brown was still at large, believed to be on foot in the mountains just west of Anaconda.
He was last seen around 2 p.m. Friday driving west of Anaconda on Stumptown Road. He was believed to be driving a stolen white Ford F-150 pickup. Authorities located the truck on Friday, but Brown was still at large.
Authorities released a still surveillance photo of Brown that was taken some point after the fatal shooting Friday and it appeared he was barefoot and only had shorts on.
But Knudsen said Brown fled the area in the stolen Ford pickup that had camping gear and clothing in it, and believe he was clothed when he ditched the truck and scampered by foot into the mountains.
“At this point we have a reason to believe the suspect is fully clothed, shoes on his feet and able to get around,” Knudsen said.
Brown was last seen wearing a black shirt, possibly with blue flames at the bottom, gray or blue pants and an orange bandanna.
What have search efforts entailed?
Attorney General Austin Knudsen said Sunday morning more than 250 law enforcement officers from numerous local, state and federal agencies were involved in the manhunt. Helicopters with infrared technology and other assets were deployed.
Search efforts were concentrated in the Stumptown Road area and the surrounding mountain range. Stumptown Road was closed at Evergreen Street and a nearby gravel road leads toward Hearst Lake in the Mount Haggin area of the Anaconda-Pintler Range.
Bill Everett, chief executive officer of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, said he is impressed with the quality of the search teams working the manhunt.
“My confidence is very good that they’ve got the best of the best here,” Everett told the Montana Standard early Sunday morning.
Are there any restrictions in place in the Anaconda area?
According to a Saturday public service update from authorities, Anaconda is not on lockdown.
Law enforcement has urged residents to avoid the Stumptown Road area and “remain cautious and vigilant.”
Anaconda-Deer Lodge Police Chief Bill Sather issued a statement on video Saturday afternoon posted on the Montana DOJ Facebook page, telling residents it was “OK to go about your business but, please use caution.”
He thanked residents for their patience during this “stressful and tragic time in our community” and expressed condolences to friends and family of the victims.
Everett said Sunday that some residents in the Stumptown Road area were initially evacuated but they have been allowed to return to their homes.
Who are the victims?
The names of the four victims were released Sunday. They are 59-year-old Daniel Edwin Baillie, 64-year-old Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 70-year-old David Allen Leach, and 74-year-old Tony Wayne Palm.
All four were residents of Anaconda. Knudsen said authorities believe Brown was a regular at the bar and likely knew the victims.
What was the shooter’s motive?
Authorities have not released any information regarding the shooter’s motive.
Gwerder, owner of the Owl Bar, said he was not aware of any conflicts between Brown and the victims.
He told the Associated Press that Brown “knew everyone that was in the bar. I guarantee you that. He didn’t have a running dispute with any of them. I think he snapped.”
Numerous social media posts from people who said they know Brown claim he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had sought mental health help numerous times. Authorities have not confirmed those claims.
What are local residents saying?
Marlene Quick, who lives on Washoe Street adjacent to Stumptown Road, said she saw a white pickup speeding by her house on Friday followed by several police cars.
“It’s so sad,” Quick said Saturday. “It’s horrifying.”
Tom Yochem was walking his dog, Sarah, about a half mile up the road that leads to Hearst Lake on Friday when he heard sirens. Then a friend called him and said he should get home.
Given the police presence Saturday, Yochem planned to change his routine.
“Sarah won’t get her walk today,” he said.
The Ranch Bar a few miles west of Anaconda on Highway 1 wasn’t open Saturday. A sign on the door said, “Closed, active shooter on the loose.”
What do we know about the Owl Bar?
The Owl Bar is cluttered with old signs and memorabilia, neon lights and has a long bar on one end that stretches the length of the room. One woman described it Friday as a favorite watering hole for locals.
It dates back to the early 1900s and according to a 1987 story in The Montana Standard, “was one of numerous bars along the old streetcar run that brought thousands of men to and from the Washoe Smelter each day.”
The bar is in the Goosetown neighborhood, which got its name from a large number of geese kept behind each bar that were raffled off frequently.