The residents asked to stay in “ high alert ” while the search for shooting of the Montana continues

The man suspected of having entered a bar in the southwest of Montana on Friday morning and opening fire, killing four people in an “insane act of violence”, remains on the run, local authorities announced on Friday evening.

The shooting occurred around 10:30 am local time at the OWL bar in Anaconda, a city of around 9,000 people in southwest Montana, according to the Ministry of Justice of Montana.

The suspect, identified by the authorities like Michael Paul Brown, 45, of Anaconda, fled the premises and would be “armed and dangerous,” the Montana Ministry of Justice told Lee Johnson, journalists during a brief press conference on Friday evening.

Police have located the White Ford F-1507 Brown pick-up was seen for the latest on Friday, but it was not, and the authorities are now focusing their research along Stomptown Road, a highway west of Anaconda, said Johnson.

“Residents of the region have been informed and are encouraged to stay in their homes and on a high alert,” said Johnson.

The authorities did not say what led to the shooting at the bar or a possible reason.

Police have identified the four people killed but do not yet publish their names until they had the chance to speak to family members, Johnson said.

The shooting sparked a large presence of the police, including the office of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives, which sent agents to respond to the scene.

Earlier in the day, Montana Governor, Greg Gianforte, said on social networks that he “closely monitored the situation involving an active shooter in Anaconda” and had asked for prayers for the victims.