The owner of a Montana bar where a gunman killed four people before going on the run believes the suspect just ‘snapped’.
David Gwerder, owner of the Owl Bar, said alleged shooter Michael Paul Brown likely knew the victims of Friday’s attack.
Brown, 45, is an army veteran who lived next to the establishment in Anaconda. He is accused of killing three patrons and a bartender.
The town remains on high alert as the manhunt for Brown enters its second day.
‘He knew everybody that was in that bar, I guarantee you that,’ Gwerder said.
‘He didn’t have any running dispute with any of them. I just think he snapped.’
Gwerder was not at the bar at the time of the shooting and believes the victims were the only ones inside.
Brown fled the scene around 10:30am on Friday in a white truck which was later found abandoned, police said.
The Owl Bar owner, David Gwerder, has known the suspect, Michael Paul Brown, (pictured) for a while, as he lived next door to the boozy establishment
‘He knew everybody that was in that bar, I guarantee you that,’ Gwerder to AP. ‘He didn’t have any running dispute with any of them. I just think he snapped’
He is still at large and believed to be armed and dangerous. Members of the public are being urged to avoid any contact with him if spotted.
One person who spoke with MTN News said they had been at a nearby bar and saw the shooter walking around with a rifle.
Brown served in the Army as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005 and deployed to Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005, according to Lieutenant Colonel Ruth Castro, an Army spokesperson.
The suspect was in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to March 2009, Castro said. He left military service in the rank of sergeant.
His home was cleared by a SWAT team and he was last seen in the Stump Town area, just west of Anaconda, authorities said.
Police are focusing on the nearby mountains near Stumptown Road and residents were encouraged to stay indoors Friday evening.
As reports of the shooting spread through town, business owners locked their doors and sheltered inside with customers.
At Caterpillars to Butterflies Childcare, a nursery a few blocks from the shooting scene, owner Sage Huot said she’d kept the children inside all day after someone called to let her know about the violence.
Brown, 45, is an army veteran who lived next to the establishment in Anaconda. He is accused of killing three patrons and a bartender
Brown served in the Army as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005 and deployed to Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005, according to Lieutenant Colonel Ruth Castro, an Army spokesperson
‘We’re constantly doing practice drills, fire drills and active shooter drills, so we locked down the facility, locked the doors, and we have a quiet spot where we play activities away from all of our windows and doors,’ Huot said.
The owner of the Firefly Café in Anaconda said she locked up her business at about 11am Friday after getting alerted to the shooting by a friend.
‘We are Montana, so guns are not new to us,’ café owner Barbie Nelson said. ‘For our town to be locked down, everybody’s pretty rattled.’
A woman believed to be Brown’s daughter took to social media as the manhunt continued saying: ‘Mental health is real.’
Clare Boyle posted after the horrific events unfolded writing: ‘There is one thing I’m certain of. Mental health is real.
‘And it goes unmanaged and dismissed every single day. There are people who search for help and get turned away at every stop along the path.
‘There are people who cry for help and show DEFINITE warning signs of crash out. This town? All this town does is talk and judge.’
A friend of Brown wrote on Facebook: ‘The shooter was a friend, combat veteran with PTSD and a delusional mentality of still being active spec ops! He would tell me these outrageous stories of his that were straight out of motion pictures!
Brown fled the scene around 10:30am on Friday in a white truck and he is still at large. Police believed the veteran, who served in the Army, to be armed and dangerous
Brown is accused of killing three patrons and a bartender , who Gwerder – who was not at the bar at the time of the shooting – believes were the only people in place at the time
‘Mikey Brown needed help! Several locals contacted authorities and pleaded for them to do something to no avail! He was always polite to everyone he was in contact with! Gentle soul, I knew him for years, and watched his mental health decline!
‘PTSD is a serious disease! I am so sorry for those who lost their lives and their loved ones who are dealing with the loss of their own! Mikey I’m sorry people didn’t listen! God Bless Anaconda.’
