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THE man accused of killing four people at a Montana bar is still on the loose after he was seen fleeing the scene wearing only his boxers.
Suspect Michael Paul Brown, 45, was caught on camera looking gaunt as he walked barefoot down a flight of outdoor concrete stairs after opening fire at the dive bar next to his home on Friday morning.
The manhunt for Brown, a military veteran, has stretched into its fourth day on Monday after he left the scene at The Owl Bar in the small town of Anaconda, Montana, in a white pickup truck, police said.
Brown likely abandoned the truck and stole another car that had clothes, shoes, and camping gear, according to officials.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said on Sunday that the four victims, a female bartender and three customers, ranged in age from 59 to 74.
Knudsen warned the public that Brown could return to the town, which is about 75 miles southeast of Missoula.
“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.
Brown’s niece, Clare Boyle, spoke out and said her uncle has struggled with mental illness after serving in the Army and the Montana National Guard for years, according to the Associated Press.
“This isn’t just a drunk/high man going wild,” Boyle said in a Facebook message to the AP.
“It’s a sick man who doesn’t know who he is sometimes and frequently doesn’t know where or when he is either.”
Knudsen said that local cops knew about Brown before the shooting.
The four victims were identified on Sunday as Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59, David Allen Leach, 70, Tony Wayne Palm, 74, and bartender Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64.
“It sounds like he was a regular at this establishment, he literally lived next door,” Knudsen said on Sunday.
“I think it’s likely he knew the bartender and these patrons, which makes this even more heinous.”
Kristian Kelley, Nancy Kelley’s daughter, told CBS News that her mom was a retired nurse who worked at the Owl Bar so that she would have something to do.
She said her mom never mentioned Brown, but that she knew of him by his reputation in the town of just over 9,000 people.
“He was somebody that needed some serious resources. He had some mental health issues as well as PTSD from being in the military,” Kelley told the outlet.
“I’ve never known him to be violent. He was a person who would tell pretty strange stories and different things like that.”
Brown served in the Army as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005, according to Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro.
He was deployed to Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005.
From 2006 to March 2009, he served in the Montana National Guard.
Clare Boyle’s full letter
Clare Boyle shared the following letter with ABC affiliate KWYB after her ungle, Michael Paul Brown, allegedly shot four people to death at a bar in Anaconda, Montana:
We don’t know much right now unfortunately apart from what the police know.. My uncle is a very mentally ill veteran. He served in the army and was sent home a sergeant. He had developed schizophrenia during his time in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then he joined the National Guard where he was not allowed to be deployed again due to his mental illness.. Mikee hasn’t been the same since he came back.. It’s been progressively worse with the passing of both parents and exceedingly worse since the trauma of my grandmas passing (his mother)… The VA turned us away stating that they weren’t able to help. The Montana state Hospital turned us away because they only accept patients who are court ordered which could not happen unless “He becomes a harm to self or others”. The system failed.. We as people failed.. Failed to report suspicious behavior because “that’s just Mikee” patrons of the bar urinating on his porch and mocking his delusions to get a rise out of him because they know it will… You deal with that long enough… With a mental illness? Horrible things are going to happen. We begged people to listen and open their eyes.. 99% of the time Mikee is harmless. You can ask almost anyone in town. If you’re not mocking his delusions or being awful towards him he is one of the best people… I don’t know what happened Thursday night to provoke this and I don’t know what happened Friday morning to push this… what I do know is no amount of words or apologies will ever be enough to express the remorse and heartbreak I personally feel for these families effected. 5 families were destroyed on Friday morning.. This town will take a long time to recover from such losses of our community… My uncle frequently suffers from delusions and “tall tales”. He mostly believes he is John Wick. Only he is sent here from the future to save the world and his family. My uncle doesn’t drink anymore or use drugs because “They block my wizard powers”.. I just want him to be found safely and receive the help we’ve been screaming for… This is a man who taught me how to ride a bike, how to fish, swim, play football and baseball. The man who drove an hour and a half to have lunch with me when I was away at college because I was home sick and didn’t want to be there anymore. He’s a human being. A very sick one at that. There are no excuses or words of defense for this awful tragedy… Mental illness does not excuse these acts and I can’t say it enough… But these acts could have been prevented with proper reporting and a healthcare system that gave a damn about its veterans and citizens.
Source: NonStop Local
Boyle spoke about the events leading up to the shooting in a written statement to ABC affiliate KWYB and said she and her family tried to get help for her uncle.
She said Brown was turned away by Veterans Affairs while he struggled with schizophrenia after his service.
‘NO EXCUSES’
Boyle said her uncle was known in town for telling delusional tall tales and people would make fun of him — with Owl Bar patrols even urinating on his porch and trying to agitate him.
“There are no excuses or words of defense for this awful tragedy… Mental illness does not excuse these acts and I can’t say it enough,” Boyle said.
“But these acts could have been prevented with proper reporting and a healthcare system that gave a damn about its veterans and citizens.”
Veterans Affairs didn’t immediately return The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
While officials are currently searching Montana forests, Knudsen said the strategy will change if Brown isn’t caught soon.
“We’re going to catch this guy,” Knudsen said.
VETERANS CRISIS LINE
If you or someone you know is a veteran affected by any of the issues raised in this story, you can alternatively dial 988 and then press one to access the Veterans Crisis Line, chat on veteranscrisisline.net or text 838255.
There are also many veterans-founded private organizations that provide support to America’s heroes:
