The cold edge of fear blows through the hills of northwestern Montana as authorities hunt a man who killed four people in a bar Friday morning.
Suspect Michael Paul Brown has not been seen since he fled the scene, spawning worries he might return to the 9,000-person town of Anaconda that was rocked by the violence.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen called Brown “an unstable individual who walked in and murdered four people in cold blood, for no reason whatsoever. So there absolutely is concern for the public,” according to NBC.
Brown is believed to be “an armed and extremely dangerous individual,” he said, urging anyone who sees him to call 911.
On Friday, bartender Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64, and patrons Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59, David Allen Leach, 70, and Tony Wayne Palm, 74, were shot dead in the bar.
“We didn’t even lock our cars outside, you know, or the house, and it’s, I mean, I wouldn’t say it’s dangerous here at all,” Kelley’s daughter, Kristian Kelley, said. “But when people don’t receive services, you know, in rural areas, sometimes this is what happens.”
The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation released this recent photo of murder suspect and Army veteran 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown fleeing the scene at the Owl Bar in Anaconda shortly after perpetrating a shooting leaving 4 dead, law enforcements are searching in… pic.twitter.com/ZVeQqqE5Dd
— Jorge Flores Nava (@JorgeFNAVA) August 3, 2025
Knudsen said Brown was a regular at the bar.
“I think it’s likely that he knew the bartender and these patrons, which makes this even more heinous,” Knudsen said..
An image of Brown taken after the shooting showed him having taken off all but his underwear.
Knudsen said he believes Brown stole a vehicle and obtained new clothes that way.
It’s possible Brown may have killed himself, Knudsen said, but officials “are acting under the assumption that he is alive, well, armed and extremely dangerous.”
Anaconda resident David Jabarek, 70, said the small town has been traumatized, according to the Associated Press.
“We only have 9,000 people, so it’s like, what the hell just happened? Everybody knows everybody here,” he said.
Jabarek said residents are ready if Brown returns.
“Everybody around here has two dozen firearms in their house, and right now they’re within hands reach,” Jabarek said.
Clare Boyle, Brown’s niece, said the system failed him, according to KRTV-TV.
“My heart breaks for this town. There is no amount of apology or words that could ever describe how sorry I am and how I feel for these families, my own included,” she said, indicating the PTSD from his stint in the Army was among his mental health issues.
Army Lt. Ruth Castro said Brown served as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005, with service in Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005. From 2006 to 2009, he was in the National Guard, Castro said.
Brown’s schizophrenia grew worse after his mother died, Boyle said.
“Mikee’s decline started really heavily when my grandma passed. The trauma from losing his last parent broke Mikee. The VA said he no longer qualified for assistance with obtaining prescriptions and help.”
She said he uncle “no longer drank alcohol because it ‘blocked his wizard powers’ … Mikee is harmless 99% of the time when others aren’t asking him about and making fun of his delusions.”
She was bitter over the Veterans Administration’s treatment of her uncle.
“The VA said he no longer qualified for assistance with obtaining prescriptions and help. The Montana State Hospital wouldn’t take him in unless it was a court order. The only way to obtain a court order was for Mikee to become a harm to himself or others. We warned them that a snap could happen and that he was not of sound mind, and we were still left with no answers and nowhere to turn,” she said.
“A lot of the time, people forget how hard it is for his family to watch this happen,” she said.
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