Michael Paul Brown

Mass Murderer

Michael Paul Brown and the 2025 Anaconda Bar Massacre

Overview

Michael Paul Brown is the Montana man accused of carrying out a mass shooting that killed four people inside The Owl Bar in Anaconda on August 1, 2025. The victims were a bartender and three customers who had gathered at the neighborhood tavern during the morning. Authorities alleged that Brown, a longtime Anaconda resident and former soldier who lived next door to the bar, used a rifle to kill everyone who was inside before fleeing into the mountainous countryside surrounding the community. The attack occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. at The Owl Bar, located at 819 East Third Street in Anaconda, Montana. The four victims were pronounced dead at the scene. No surviving gunshot victims were reported. Investigators said Brown apparently knew the people inside because he was familiar with the bar and had visited it for years. Despite that familiarity, authorities had not publicly established a clear personal dispute or motive connecting Brown to any particular victim.

The Events Before the Shooting

According to allegations described in charging documents and subsequent court proceedings, Brown entered The Owl Bar shortly before the killings and attempted to start a fire. Investigators alleged that he ignited a cardboard pizza box and tried to use it to set fire to a bucket containing flammable or potentially explosive material. The attempt failed when the bucket did not ignite. Brown allegedly left the establishment, went to his neighboring residence and retrieved a rifle that authorities believed belonged to him. He then returned to the bar. Prosecutors alleged that Brown opened fire inside the tavern, killing bartender Nancy Lauretta Kelley and customers Daniel Edwin Baillie, David Allen Leach and Tony Wayne Palm. The four victims were believed to have been the only other people inside the bar at the time. The attempted fire became an important part of the prosecution's case because investigators believed it indicated an effort to damage or destroy the bar in addition to the fatal shootings. Brown was consequently charged not only with four counts of deliberate homicide but also with attempted arson.

Victims of the August 1, 2025 Shooting

• Nancy Lauretta Kelley, 64 Killed on August 1, 2025, while working as the bartender at The Owl Bar, 819 East Third Street in Anaconda, Montana. Kelley was an Anaconda resident and was remembered by community members as a familiar and valued presence at the tavern.
• Daniel Edwin Baillie, 59 Killed on August 1, 2025, while inside The Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana. Baillie was an Anaconda resident and one of three customers fatally shot during the attack.
• David Allen Leach, 70 Killed on August 1, 2025, while visiting The Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana. Leach was an Anaconda resident and a patron of the neighborhood establishment.
• Tony Wayne Palm, 74 Killed on August 1, 2025, while inside The Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana. Palm was an Anaconda resident and the oldest of the four victims.

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Confirmed Victims: (4)

Nancy Lauretta Kelley 64 yr old Male

Man accused of killing 4 people at Montana bar is in ...