A gunman is on the loose after four people were shot dead at a bar. Police have released a picture of the suspect, Michael Paul Brown, after he reportedly “opened fire” at the bar in Montana, USA, on Friday morning (August 1).
The FBI has launched a manhunt for the 45-year-old and is urging people to avoid the area. They believe Brown is armed and wearing a tie-dyed shirt, blue jeans, and an orange bandana. Police said the shooting took place at Owl Bar, in Anaconda, at 10.30am – just 30 minutes after opening.
Brown fled the scene and was seen driving west in a 2007 white Ford F-150 pickup truck with Montana license plates. Police searched his home, which is located next to the Owl Bar, straight after the attack.
Officers are now looking in the woods near Stumptown Road, and the area is on high alert. The victims of the shooting have yet to be identified.
Anaconda, which has a population of 9,800, is located 75 miles southeast of Missoula. At around 1pm, the Montana Highway Patrol said, “There is a heavy law enforcement presence west of Anaconda near Stumptown Road and Anderson Ranch Loop Road.”
The Granite County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) added: “Authorities are searching for a suspect believed to be armed. Please avoid the area.”
Meanwhile, Greg Gianforte, the Governor of Montana, said he’s “closely monitoring the situation involving an active shooter in Anaconda.”
Barbara Nelson, the owner of Firefly Cafe nearby, locked up her business at around 11am after hearing about the shooting. She told the Associated Press: “We are Montana, so guns are not new to us. For our town to be locked down, everybody’s pretty rattled.
“It’s a small town, so we all probably know someone who was there.”
As well as the FBI, the Denver office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also sent agents to help local police following the shooting.