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U.S.|Suspect in Montana Bar Shooting Faces 4 Murder Charges
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/us/montana-bar-shooting.html
The man is accused of fatally shooting four people in a bar in Anaconda, Mont. He had led the police on an eight-day manhunt that rattled the community.
Aug. 30, 2025, 10:20 p.m. ET
A U.S. Army veteran suspected of fleeing after killing four people at a bar in Montana, prompting a weeklong manhunt, was charged with four counts of murder, according to court records unsealed on Friday.
Michael P. Brown, 45, is accused of fatally shooting a bartender and three patrons inside a neighborhood tavern called the Owl Bar in Anaconda, Mont., on Aug. 1. It was the deadliest shooting in the state since 2015.
In Montana, a murder charge, also known as deliberate homicide, can carry the death penalty, but it was unclear if prosecutors would pursue that punishment.
Morgan Smith, the county attorney, did not immediately return requests for comment on Saturday. Mr. Brown’s lawyer, Walter Hennessy, could not be immediately reached for comment.
After the shooting, the suspect, who lived down the street from the bar, fled into the rugged hills outside Anaconda, a tight-knit town in Deer Lodge County with a population of about 10,000 in the western part of the state.
The police searched for the suspect for eight days until his capture. The authorities flushed him from a hilly area into a spot near a highway west of Anaconda. Officials said he was armed at the time of his capture.
During the manhunt, more than 200 law enforcement officers combed through thickly wooded mountainous terrain on foot and in vehicles and helicopters, officials said. The operation involved officials from the F.B.I., the U.S. Marshals and several local and state law enforcement agencies.
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The attack and the ensuing manhunt had kept the residents of Anaconda on edge as they mourned the loss of four community members. The victims were identified as Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64; Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59; David Allen Leach, 70; and Tony Wayne Palm, 74.
Relatives of Mr. Brown, who served as an armor crewman in the Army, said he had a long history of mental illness after he left the service.
Investigators have not released many details about the shooting. Charging documents were not immediately available in online court records on Saturday evening.
Mr. Brown is being held at the Anaconda Deer Lodge County Jail. He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 3, local news outlets reported.
Orlando Mayorquín is a Times reporter covering California. He is based in Los Angeles.
