Investigators searching for a man they say shot and killed four people at a Montana bar Friday morning have located the vehicle he fled in, but the suspect remains on the loose, officials said.
A white Ford F-150 that Michael Paul Brown is believed to have been driving was found Friday, but Brown “was not located in or around the vehicle,” Montana Division of Criminal Investigation Administrator Lee Johnson said at a news conference late Friday.
Authorities are now focusing their search in the mountains near Stumptown Road, west of Anaconda, where the shooting took place, Johnson said.
Brown is believed to be armed and dangerous, the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center said in a Facebook post, advising the public to stay out of the area and to not approach him.
Authorities are searching for suspect Michael Paul Brown in connection with a deadly shooting in Anaconda. – Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement
The shooting took place at 10:30 a.m. local time at The Owl Bar, and the scene is secure, the Montana DCI said, without providing additional details about what led up to the shooting.
Investigators have identified all four victims of the shooting but aren’t releasing their names until their families have been notified, Johnson said.
Friday’s violence is among at least 256 mass shooting in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Cassandra Dutra, a bartender at the Owl Bar for six months, told CNN she feels extremely overwhelmed and sad about the shooting on Friday.
“It just isn’t real. It’s totally overwhelming,” she said. She believes every person in the bar at the time of the shooting was killed, which included a bartender who was the only staff member working, and three customers.
She said Brown lived next door to the bar and would come in frequently, but noted “he wasn’t a part of the camaraderie” existing with the others.
Dutra was not working on Friday but she lives near the bar and heard noise during the shooting. At first, she assumed it was coming from construction happening outside the bar. When she heard there was a shooting at the Owl, she did not think it was a dangerous situation where people were hurt.
“I didn’t immediately panic because I just know the atmosphere in the Owl … it never occurred to me that anybody was hurt,” she said.
The Granite County Sheriff’s Office shared this photo of Michael Paul Brown on Friday. – Granite County Sheriff’s Office
David Gwerder, the owner of The Owl Bar, told The Associated Press he was unaware of any conflicts between Brown and anyone who was in the bar Friday morning.
“He knew everybody that was in that bar. I guarantee you that,” Gwerder told the AP. “He didn’t have any running dispute with any of them. I just think he snapped.”
CNN has reached out to Gwerder for comment.
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said on X he is “praying for the victims, their loved ones, and the brave law enforcement officers” who responded to the scene.
Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke encouraged people in the area to “stay inside and lock their doors.”
The FBI, the Denver office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Granite County Sheriff’s Office said they are assisting with the investigation.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Sarah Dewberry and Jessica Flynn contributed to this report.
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