ANACONDA, Mont. — Authorities in Montana are on the hunt for a man they said opened fire inside a Montana bar, killing four people.

Police in Anaconda, Montana, said Michael Paul Brown shot and killed four people Friday morning at The Owl Bar, The Associated Press reported.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said Brown used a rifle to kill the female bartender and three men who were patrons of the establishment. Their ages ranged from 59 to 74 years old. It is believed that he knew at least some of the victims.

Brown lived next door to The Owl Bar and was considered a regular patron. Knudsen said Brown may return to the area, telling residents to be on alert.

“This is an unstable individual who walked in and murdered four people in cold blood for no reason whatsoever. So there absolutely is concern for the public,” Knudsen said during a news conference on Sunday, the AP reported.

Because of the apparent threat to the community, several events were canceled as the search continued over the weekend. The woods near Anaconda were closed by the National Forest System.

Several local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are searching for the alleged gunman, ABC News reported.

“We’ve got air assets, ground assets. We’re going to catch this guy. This is absolutely still priority No. 1,” Knudsen said.

The attorney general said that Brown stole a vehicle after the shooting that contained camping equipment and clothing. A surveillance video from shortly after the shooting showed Brown in only his underwear, ABC News reported.

It is believed that Brown is armed and dangerous, but there have not been any reports of him hurting anyone else, Fox News reported.

Brown had served in the Army from 2001 to 2005 as an armor crewman. He deployed to Iraq in 2004, serving there until March 2025. He left the military as a sergeant. He also served in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to 2009.

His niece, Clare Boyle, told the AP that her uncle had struggled with mental illness and that family members tried to get help for him.

“This isn’t just a drunk/high man going wild,” she said in a Facebook message, the AP reported. “It’s a sick man who doesn’t know who he is sometimes and frequently doesn’t know where or when he is either.”

A reward of $7,500 is being offered for information that leads to Brown’s arrest, the AP reported.

No motive has been released, ABC News reported.

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