Suspect in Deadly Montana Bar Shooting Arrested After Seven-Day Pursuit

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Michael Paul Brown, accused of fatally shooting four people at a bar in Anaconda, Montana, last week, has been taken into custody following a weeklong, multiagency manhunt, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte announced Friday.

Brown had been on the run since the shooting at The Owl Bar on August 1, which was the deadliest shooting in Montana in a decade. Authorities arrested him around 2 pm local time Friday, about five and a half miles from the scene. Brown was armed at the time of his arrest and is now in the custody of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County officials, according to Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen.

“One week ago today, devastation struck this small Montana community of Anaconda,” Governor Gianforte said during a news conference Friday evening. “Our brave men and women in uniform didn’t waste a second. Law enforcement jumped into action, began the search with the promise to not give up until they found this suspect.”

Officials have not yet disclosed what charges Brown will face. CNN is working to confirm whether he has retained legal counsel.

Brown, an Army veteran, was captured on security footage fleeing the bar after the shooting. Since then, more than 250 law enforcement officers from over 39 local, state, and federal agencies combed through challenging wilderness terrain to find him.

Public tips were critical in locating Brown, who was found in an area previously searched and cleared, according to Attorney General Knudsen. “They responded to every call. They followed up on every tip. They spent hours climbing over these mountains looking for this criminal. They used every resource available to them to search for him,” Gianforte said of the officers involved in the manhunt.

Morgan Smith, the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Attorney, said her office has informed the victims’ families about Brown’s arrest. “The entire community of Anaconda is going to sleep tonight and truly rest,” she said Friday evening.

Investigators revealed that after fleeing the bar, Brown briefly returned to his home and then went to another nearby structure. After discarding clothing and personal items, he left that location and stole a vehicle to continue evading capture.

The manhunt, described as one of the largest in Montana in recent memory, has now ended with the suspect in custody, bringing some relief to the community shaken by the tragic event.