Police are scouring mountains for an armed military veteran after four people were killed in a shooting in a Montana bar.
Michael Paul Brown, 45, fled The Owl Bar in the town of Anaconda in a white pickup truck but later ditched it, authorities say.
The shooting happened at about 10:30 local time on Friday morning.
Residents were told to stay at home and on high alert as the manhunt continued.
Lee Johnson, of the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, said: “While law enforcement has not received reports of Brown harming any other individuals, he is believed to be armed, and he is extremely dangerous.”
Authorities said they would release the names of the victims once all of their families have been notified.
“This is a small tight-knit community that has been harmed by the heinous actions of one individual who does not represent what this community or Montanans stand for,” Mr Johnson said.
Family members of Brown, pictured, say he has suffered serious mental health problems
Anaconda, about 25 miles north-west of Butte, is hemmed in by mountains. The town of about 9,000 people, was founded by copper barons.
Brown lived next door to The Owl Bar, said owner David Gwerder, who wasn’t there during the shooting on Friday morning. Gwerder told the Associated Press that the bartender and three patrons were killed and didn’t think anyone else was inside. He also said he wasn’t aware of any conflicts between Brown and any of the victims.
“He knew everybody that was in that bar. I guarantee you that,” Mr Gwerder said. “He didn’t have any running disputes with any of them. I just think he snapped.”
Brown served in the US army as an armour 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 then in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to March 2009. He left military service in the rank of sergeant.
Brown’s niece, Clare Boyle, told the AP on Friday that her uncle has struggled with mental illness for years and that she and her other family members repeatedly sought help.
“This isn’t just a drunk/high man going wild,” she wrote in a Facebook message. “It’s a sick man who doesn’t know who he is sometimes and frequently doesn’t know where or when he is either.”
Authorities locked down the west of Anaconda by ground and air, preventing anyone from leaving or entering.
A helicopter hovered over a nearby mountainside as officers moved among the trees, said Randy Clark, a retired police officer who lives there.
Following reports of the shooting on Friday, business owners locked their doors and sheltered inside with customers.
Barbie Nelson, the owner of the Firefly Café in Anaconda, said she locked up her business after a friend alerted her to the shooting.
“We are Montana, so guns are not new to us,” Ms Nelson said. “For our town to be locked down, everybody’s pretty rattled.”
