Anaconda, Montana (AP) – A man suspected of being involved in a shooting at a bar in Montana that left four people dead has been apprehended after a week-long search, authorities reported on Friday.
Michael Paul Brown, 45, was taken into custody around 2 PM near an area where law enforcement had been focusing their search efforts following the incident at the Owl Bar in Anaconda on August 1st. The details of his location at the time of the arrest were not disclosed by authorities.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte (R) confirmed Brown’s arrest on social media, praising the swift action of law enforcement across the state.
“May God be with the families of the four victims as they continue to mourn their loss,” he stated.
Authorities had intended to disclose more information about Brown’s capture during a press conference scheduled for Friday evening.
In the shooting, a female bartender and three male patrons—a 64-year-old woman named Nancy Lauretta Kelly, and three men aged 59, 70, and 74—lost their lives. The cause of the shooting has not been revealed.
This tragic event sent ripples through the tight-knit community of around 9,000 residents, leaving many on edge as responders scoured the wooded hills both on foot and from the air. To ensure safety, approximately 22 square miles of forest in southwestern Anaconda were closed off by forest officials.
This week, Montana Attorney General Austink Nudsen (R) noted that Brown did not seem to have broken into any nearby cabins or homes for supplies during the search.
Brown, who lived near the Owl Bar, served in the Army as an armor crew member from 2001 to 2005 and was deployed to Iraq during that time. He also spent time in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to 2009.
Claire Boyle, Brown’s niece, shared with the Associated Press that her uncle has struggled with mental health issues for years, and she along with other family members have reached out for assistance multiple times.
