2025 Anaconda shooting
| 2025 Anaconda shooting | |
|---|---|
Location of The Owl Bar | |
| Location | Anaconda, Montana, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 46°07′35″N 112°56′32″W / 46.1263°N 112.9422°W |
| Date | August 1, 2025 10:30 a.m. (MDT) |
Attack type | Mass shooting, mass murder |
| Weapon | Rifle |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Injured | 0 |
| Motive | Under investigation |
On August 1, 2025, a mass shooting occurred at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana, United States. The perpetrator, 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, who lived next door to the bar, entered the bar and shot and killed four people. The victims were a bartender and three patrons. He then fled the bar and was at large until his capture on August 8, 2025.
Shooting and manhunt
[edit]The shooting occurred around 10:30 a.m. at The Owl Bar. According to authorities, the suspect entered the bar with a rifle he owned and shot the bartender and three patrons.[1] The suspect then fled in his underwear, though investigators believe he later put on clothes.[2] Police found his white Ford F-150 on Stumptown Road west of Anaconda.[3][4]
The suspect was captured on August 8 on a property adjacent to Montana Highway 1 west of Anaconda. Authorities had announced a $10,000 reward for information on his whereabouts.[1] The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted in the search.[5]
Victims
[edit]The four victims were identified as 64-year-old Nancy Lauretta Kelly, 59-year-old Daniel Edwin Ballie, 70-year-old David Allen Leach, and 74-year-old Tony Wayne Palm. Kelly was a bartender and the other three were patrons.[6] The Owl Bar's owner said he believed the suspect knew all four of the victims. He also said the four victims were likely the only people in the bar at the time of the shooting.[7]
Suspect
[edit]Michael Paul Brown (born October 31, 1979)[8], a 45-year-old longtime Anaconda resident who lived next door to the bar, was identified as the suspect. He served in the United States Army as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005, was deployed in Iraq from early 2004 to March 2005, and was part of the Montana National Guard from 2006 to 2009 before he left military service with the rank of sergeant. Brown's niece told NBC News that Brown had been struggling with mental health issues.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Lenthang, Marlene; Alsharif, Mirna; Park, Kathy (August 4, 2025). "What we know about the manhunt for suspect who killed 4 in a Montana bar". NBC News. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
- ^ Shapiro, Emily; Stone, Alex; Moore, Jack; Hutchinson, Bill (August 3, 2025). "As manhunt intensifies for suspect, officials ID 4 victims in Montana bar shooting". ABC News. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
- ^ Ellison, Jake; Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas; McFadden, Alyce (August 1, 2025). "Montana Gunman Remains at Large After 4 Killed at a Neighborhood Bar". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
- ^ Yousif, Nadine (August 2, 2025). "Police find getaway car of army veteran suspected of deadly Montana bar shooting". BBC. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
- ^ Romine, Taylor; Campbell, Josh; Galgano, Taylor; Gainor, Danya (August 2, 2025). "Police close parts of forest in search for suspect in killing of 4 people at a Montana bar, investigators say". CNN. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
- ^ "Montana shooting victims named as manhunt for suspect continues". The Guardian. August 3, 2025. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
- ^ Brown, Matthew; Slevin, Colleen (August 1, 2025). "Former US soldier is suspected in Montana bar shooting that killed 4, prompting manhunt". The Associated Press. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
- ^ "Reward increased to $10K information leading to mass shooting suspect's arrest or capture". The Anaconda Leader. August 7, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
- ^ Stelloh, Tim (August 8, 2025). "Suspect in deadly Montana bar shooting has been captured, officials say". NBC News. Archived from the original on August 10, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.