Montana mass shooting kills four, suspect armed and on the loose

Four people were killed in a shooting at a Montana bar Friday, authorities said as they launched a manhunt for the suspect.

The suspect was last seen in the Stump Town area, which is just west of Anaconda, according to a Facebook post by the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center.

He was believed to still be armed, the Montana Highway Patrol said in a statement.

The shooting happened around 10:30 a.m. on Friday at The Owl Bar, according to the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, which is leading the investigation. The agency confirmed four people were pronounced dead at the scene and that it was an active investigation.

Authorities have yet to release details about what led to the shooting.

More than a dozen officers from local and state police converged on Stump Town where they appeared to be searching for the suspect in the woods. His home in Anaconda had already been cleared by a SWAT team, according to the Granite County Sheriff’s office.

Anaconda is about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Missoula.

The owner of the Firefly Café in Anaconda said she locked up her business at about 11 a.m. Friday after getting alerted to the shooting by a friend.

Two hours later, she was still waiting for an all clear before reopening.

“We are Montana, so guns are not new to us. For our town to be locked down, everybody’s pretty rattled,” café owner Barbie Nelson said.

“It’s a small town, so we all probably know someone who was there” at the shooting. she added.