ANACONDA, Mont. – ANACONDA, MT: Two residents of the rural Montana town that was rocked by an armed gunman’s alleged mass shooting at a local bar said members of the town had long predicted that he would snap. 

Two men in Anaconda, Montana, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of their comments and the prevailing sentiment in town, told Fox News Digital that Michael Paul Brown was a “loose cannon” whose delusions were well known to residents long before he allegedly murdered four people in cold blood at the Owl Bar last Friday. 

“I’ve been to a couple of barbecues with him and what not, and he’s always been just kind of a loose cannon,” one man said. “We always joked about it. About him, like going nuts and just shooting.”

The Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana, on August 7, 2025, surrounded by crime scene tape. (Peter D’Abrosca/Fox News Digital) (Fox News Digital)

Brown is suspected of killing 59-year-old Daniel Edwin Baillie, 64-year-old Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 70-year-old David Allen Leach and 74-year-old Tony Wayne Palm. All of the victims were from Anaconda. 

Mountains in Anaconda, Montana, on August 8, 2025. The Anaconda Smelter Stack (right) is the oldest surviving masonry structure in the world and a National Historic Landmark. (Peter D’Abrosca/Fox News Digital) (Fox News Digital)

Shortly after the massacre, police tracked down a white Ford F-150 associated with Brown but did not locate him. That truck was equipped with outdoor supplies and food. 

At the time of the manhunt, Brown was described by authorities as “armed and extremely dangerous.”