Montana shooting suspect in custody

(NewsNation) — Montana shooting suspect Michael Paul Brown, the gunman accused of killing four people in an Anaconda bar last week, has been captured after a weeklong manhunt, state officials announced Friday.

“The Anaconda shooter Michael Brown has been apprehended. Incredible response from law enforcement officers across Montana. Thank you to all partners for your commitment to the search. May God continue to be with the families of the four victims still grieving their loss,” Gov. Greg Gianforte said on X.

Authorities apprehended Brown around 2 p.m. “near the search area in Anaconda,” Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said. A news conference was planned for Friday evening to release additional details, he said in a statement.

Brown, a 45-year-old U.S. Army veteran and former Montana National Guard member, allegedly killed the four victims — bartender Nancy Lauretta Kelly and patrons Daniel Edwin Ballie, David Allen Leach and Tony Wayne Palm — at the Owl Bar on Aug. 1 before fleeing.

What is known about Michael Brown, ex-soldier suspected of killing 4

He lived next to the bar and escaped in a stolen car with clothes and camping gear, authorities have said.

Anaconda is a town of just over 9,000 in southwestern Montana, about 25 miles west of Butte. Police had been searching the mountainous region for Brown, who reportedly has a history of mental health problems.

Brown’s niece, Clare Boyle, told The Associated Press that she and other family members repeatedly sought help for him. She described him as “a sick man who doesn’t know who he is sometimes and frequently doesn’t know where or when he is either.”

This is a developing story. Check back for more information.

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