Montana bar shooting victims identified as manhunt for suspect continues
Michael Paul Brown is wanted in connection to a shooting incident in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana. (Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center)
Investigators have identified the four victims killed in last week’s bar shooting at a bar in Anaconda, Montana, as a search for the suspect continues Monday.
Michael Paul Brown, a former U.S. Army soldier accused of killing four people at The Owl Bar on Aug 1, may be armed after escaping in a stolen car containing clothes and camping gear, authorities told reporters Sunday.
RELATED: Manhunt underway after 4 killed in Anaconda, Montana, bar shooting
Search continues for man accused of killing 4 in Montana
Deputies spent Saturday combing through a rugged mountainous area of Montana with helicopters overhead as a manhunt for a military veteran suspected of fatally shooting four people at a bar stretched into a second day with no capture. AP reports, Michael Paul Brown, 45, fled The Owl Bar in the small town of Anaconda in a white pickup before ditching it at some point, according to Lee Johnson, administrator of the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, which is overseeing the case.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said at a news conference Sunday that Brown committed the shooting with a rifle that authorities believe was his personal weapon. The Associated Press noted that Knudsen warned residents that Brown, who lived next door to the bar where he was a frequent patron, could come back to the area.
Who are the victims in the Montana bar shooting?
What we know:
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen on Aug. 3 identified the victims as Nancy Lauretta Kelley, a 64-year-old bartender, and three bar patrons: Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59; David Allen Leach, 70, and Tony Wayne Palm, 74. All four were residents of Anaconda, Montana, USA Today reported.
What we don't know:
A motive for the shooting remains under investigation, but Knudsen noted that Brown was "known" to local law enforcement and investigators believe he knew at least some of the victims.
Who is Michael Paul Brown?
The backstory:
Michael Paul Brown served in the Army as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005 and deployed to Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005, said Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, an Army spokesperson. Brown was in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to March 2009, Castro said, and left military service at the rank of sergeant.
Clare Boyle, Brown’s niece, told The Associated Press that her uncle has struggled with mental illness for years, and she and other family members were searching for help to support him.
The Associated Press reported that there is a $7,500 reward for any information that leads to Brown's capture.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by USA Today and the Associated Press, which identified the victims in the shooting and cites comments from the Montana attorney general. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.