Multi-shooting suspect absconds from Owl Bar standoff -- Updated: Four confirmed dead; search for shooter still underway

Editor's note: This article will continue to be updated as we are able.

An active shooter situation was still ongoing in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County as of press time today after a man opened fire inside the Owl Bar, 819 E. 3rd St., leaving multiple people dead. He later fled the scene of a standoff with law enforcement, traveling west in a white Ford F-150 to the area of Stumptown Road. Businesses in town went on lockdown after learning the shooter was still at large.

Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Police Department, ADLC Fire Department and the ADLC ambulance all went to the scene to assist. At around noon, Montana Highway Patrol came to assist at around noon after it is understood that law enforcement spotted a male driving up the C-Hill on a dirt bike holding a gun. It is understood that the suspect, who was described as a large male wearing a gray shirt, was resistant to speak to law enforcement while inside the bar. The suspect was identified as Anaconda resident Mike Brown. The identities of the victims have not been released at this time. 

This is a developing story.

Update: We do not have anything further on the dirt bike or the white pickup -- nor is it confirmed if he was indeed the driver of the pickup that sped away from the scene -- but the following information was posted onto the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Department's Facebook page:

Be advised suspect in shooting is believed to be armed and dangerous. Suspect is Michael Paul Brown and was last seen in the stumptown area. Public is advised to stay out of the stumptown area and surrounding areas. If seen do not approach. Contact 911 for any way to contact Michael Paul Brown.

Update: The following release was sent out by the Montana Department of Justice:

DCI investigating shooting in Anaconda

The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) is leading the investigation into a shooting that took place in Anaconda at The Owl Bar at approximately 10:30 this morning. Four people have been pronounced dead, and the scene is secure. This is an active investigation, and more information will be shared when available.

Authorities are searching for a suspect who is believed to be armed west of Anaconda near Stumptown Road and Anderson Ranch Loop Road. We are asking people to please avoid the area. Any other questions about the search for a suspect need to be directed to the Anaconda Deer Lodge Police Department.

Update: The Granite County Sheriff's Office posted on Facebook that the "White F-150 that was in pursuit out of Anaconda is stopped in Deer Lodge County. Was not the suspect."

Update: Apologies for the delay on this, but Zeke Lloyd, the Montana Free Press reporter who was our Reporter in Residency just last week, filed this article about an hour ago: https://montanafreepress.org/2025/08/01/four-dead-in-shooting-at-anacond...

Four dead in shooting at Anaconda bar

A press release from the Montana Department of Justice confirmed the deaths and that a search for the suspected shooter is underway.

Four people are dead after a shooter opened fire at Anaconda’s Owl Bar at approximately 10:30 a.m. Friday, according to a press release from the Montana Department of Justice.

“Authorities are searching for a suspect who is believed to be armed west of Anaconda near Stumptown Road and Anderson Ranch Loop Road,” DOJ Press Secretary Chase Sheuer wrote in the release sent at 2:20 p.m. Friday.

The suspect was identified as 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, who lived next door to the bar, according to public records reported on by the Associated Press. Authorities said his home was cleared by a SWAT team and that he was last seen in the Stump Town area, which is just west of Anaconda.

In a 1:20 p.m. Friday post on X, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said that its Denver office is “responding to a shooting where multiple parties have been shot at a business in Anaconda.”

Also in a post on X, made at 1:14 p.m. Friday, Gov. Greg Gianforte said: “I’m closely monitoring the situation involving an active shooter in Anaconda. Please join Susan and me in praying for the victims, their loved ones, and the brave law enforcement officers responding to this tragedy.”

Mass killings, defined by the FBI as involving at least four victims, have been rare in Montana’s modern history.

In 2015, a man shot and killed his wife and three children before committing suicide in an off-grid cabin outside Anaconda, according to Reuters. The incident is the only Montana incident included in a database of mass killings maintained by Northeastern University.

The owner of the Firefly Café in Anaconda said she locked up her business at about 11 a.m. Friday after getting alerted to the shooting by a friend. Two hours later, she was still waiting for an all clear before reopening.

“We are Montana, so guns are not new to us. For our town to be locked down, everybody’s pretty rattled,” café owner Barbie Nelson said.

“It’s a small town, so we all probably know someone who was there” at the shooting, she added.

The Associated Press and Eric Dietrich contributed reporting.

Update: We have just uploaded more of our photos from outside the Owl Bar this morning: https://www.anacondaleader.com/content/standoff-outside-owl-bar-photos

Update: The Division of Criminal Investigation has provided the following update in the form of a video statement posted to their Facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/MTDOJ/videos/1702726073745410/?app=fbl

The suspect is still at large, is believed to be in the Stumptown Road area, is considered armed and extremely dangerous, and residents in the area are encouraged to stay in their homes until the situation has been resolved.

Also, the DCI update provided confirmation that Brown fled the scene in the white Ford F-150, which has been located but he was not at the location where the vehicle was found.