ANACONDA, Mont. – ANACONDA, MT: Two residents of the rural Montana town disrupted by an alleged mass shooting at a local bar by an armed gunman stated that members of the community had long anticipated he would snap.
Two men from Anaconda, Montana, who requested to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of their statements and the prevailing town sentiment, informed Fox News Digital that Michael Paul Brown was considered a “loose cannon” whose delusions were well known to residents well before he allegedly murdered four individuals in cold blood at the Owl Bar last Friday.
“I’ve been to a couple of barbecues with him and whatnot, and he’s always been somewhat of a loose cannon,” one man remarked. “We always joked about it. About him, like going nuts and just shooting.”
The Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana, on August 7, 2025, surrounded by crime scene tape. (Peter D’Abrosca/Fox News Digital) (Fox News Digital)
Brown is suspected of killing 59-year-old Daniel Edwin Baillie, 64-year-old Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 70-year-old David Allen Leach, and 74-year-old Tony Wayne Palm. All of the victims were residents of Anaconda.
Mountains in Anaconda, Montana, on August 8, 2025. The Anaconda Smelter Stack (right) is the oldest surviving masonry structure in the world and a National Historic Landmark. (Peter D’Abrosca/Fox News Digital) (Fox News Digital)
Soon after the massacre, the police pursued a white Ford F-150 linked to Brown but failed to find him. The truck was equipped with outdoor supplies and food.
At the time of the manhunt, Brown was described by authorities as “armed and extremely dangerous.”
