On August 1, 2025, a mass shooting occurred at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana, United States. The suspect, 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, who lived next door to the bar, entered the bar and shot and killed four people. The victims were a bartender and three patrons. He then fled the bar and was at large until his capture on August 8, 2025.
The shooting occurred around 10:30 a.m. at The Owl Bar. According to authorities, the suspect entered the bar with a rifle he owned and shot the bartender and three patrons.[1] The suspect then fled in his underwear, though investigators believe he later put on clothes.[2] Police found his white Ford F-150 on Stumptown Road west of Anaconda.[3][4]
The four victims were identified as 64-year-old Nancy Lauretta Kelly, 59-year-old Daniel Edwin Ballie, 70-year-old David Allen Leach, and 74-year-old Tony Wayne Palm. Kelly was a bartender and the other three were patrons.[6] The Owl Bar's owner said he believed the suspect knew all four of the victims. He also said the four victims were likely the only people in the bar at the time of the shooting.[7]
Suspect
Michael Paul Brown (born October 31, 1979)[8], a 45-year-old longtime Anaconda resident who lived next door to the bar, was identified as the suspect. He served in the United States Army as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005, was deployed in Iraq from early 2004 to March 2005, and was part of the Montana National Guard from 2006 to 2009 before he left military service with the rank of sergeant. Brown's niece told NBC News that Brown had been struggling with mental health issues.[9]
On August 11, 2025, Brown made his first court appearance in a county court in Anaconda. Brown was given a $2 million bond and ordered that if he were to be released on bond he would waive his right to confidentiality, that he could not change his address, engage in any criminal activities, avoid any contact with the alleged victim's families, and that he could not enter any bars or taverns.[10]
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