ANACONDA, Montana (AP) — A man implicated in a shooting at a bar in Montana, which resulted in the deaths of four individuals and led to a local lockdown, was apprehended on Friday after a week of searching, according to officials.
Authorities took 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown into custody at around 2 p.m. He was found near the primary search area that had been targeted since the shooting on August 1 at The Owl Bar, located in Anaconda, approximately a hundred miles from Missoula. Officials announced Brown’s arrest but did not disclose further specifics on his location when captured.
Governor Greg Gianforte announced Brown’s arrest on social media on Friday afternoon, commending the outstanding response from law enforcement personnel throughout the state.
“May God continue to be with the families of the four victims still grieving their loss,” he said.
Authorities planned to release more details about Brown’s capture during a news conference Friday evening.
So far, Montana officials have not disclosed what triggered the shooting last week, which resulted in the deaths of a female bartender and three male patrons, identified as Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64; Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59; David Allen Leach, 70; and Tony Wayne Palm, 74.
The incident deeply disturbed the close-knit community of around 9,000 residents, leaving many on edge as law enforcement conducted ground and aerial searches in the hilly wooded areas. Approximately 22 square miles (57 square kilometers) of forest southwest of Anaconda were temporarily closed to the public by forest officials for safety reasons.
Earlier in the week, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen mentioned that there was no indication that Brown had broken into local cabins or residences to obtain food or other supplies.
Brown, who lived next door to The Owl Bar, served in the Army as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005 and deployed to Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005. He also was in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to 2009.
Brown’s niece, Clare Boyle, told the AP her uncle has struggled with mental illness for years and she and other family members repeatedly sought help.
