FOUR people have been killed at a Montana bar and the gunman is on the loose, police said.
Suspect Michael Paul Brown, 45, is at large after he allegedly opened fire on Friday morning, prompting a manhunt involving SWAT teams and the FBI, police said.
The shooting broke out at Owl Bar in Anaconda at 10:30 am, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation said.
Police warned people to avoid the area in southwestern Montana while they hunt for the suspect.
Brown is believed to be armed, police said.
He was seen driving west of Anaconda in a 2007 white Ford F-150 pickup truck with Montana license plates.
Police are now searching the woods near Stumptown Road, where he was last spotted.
The alleged shooter is wearing a tie-dyed shirt, blue jeans, and an orange bandana, police said.
A SWAT team cleared the suspect’s house in Anaconda after the attack, according to the Granite County Sheriff’s Office.
Brown lives right next to Owl Bar, according to public records.
The shooting broke out just 30 minutes after Owl Bar, a dive bar, opened at 10 am.
The victims haven’t been identified.
MULTIPLE SHOT IN ANACONDA, MONTANA
The shooter reportedly injured several people in a bar and fled in a vehicle, leaving the town of 9,800 on high alert
Anaconda is a town of about 10,000 people located in Deer Lodge County, about 75 miles southeast of Missoula.
The Montana Highway Patrol warned just before 1 pm local time, “There is a heavy law enforcement presence west of Anaconda near Stumptown Road and Anderson Ranch Loop Road.”
Police initially stopped a White F-150, but determined it wasn’t the suspect, according to the sheriff’s office in neighboring Granite County.
Cops said that there’s no threat to Granite County citizens at this time.
“Authorities are searching for a suspect believed to be armed. Please avoid the area,” GCSO said.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said he’s “closely monitoring the situation involving an active shooter in Anaconda.”
Cops have yet to say what led to the shooting.
The FBI responded to the shooting, FBI’s Salt Lake City office spokesperson Sandra Barker told the Associated Press.
The Denver office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also said it sent agents to help local police.
Cafe owner Barbie Nelson told the AP that she locked up her business, the Firefly Café, at around 11 am on Friday after her friend told her about the shooting.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14893937/active-shooter-anaconda-montana-deer-lodge-owl-bar/
