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The brother of a Montana man who is on the run after allegedly shooting four people to death in a small-town bar has a brother who is currently serving a life sentence, Fox News Digital has confirmed.
William Brown was sentenced to 110 years in prison in 2002 for the stabbing death of another man in Anaconda, Montana, which stemmed from an argument over a relationship, according to KBZK. The first 100 years of the sentence were handed down for the murder, and the other 10 for the use of a deadly weapon during the crime.
Brown is the brother of Michael Paul Brown, 45, who is a fugitive from justice after he allegedly shot and killed four people in a bar, also in the town of Anaconda, on Friday morning.
Mugshot of William L. Brown, convicted of stabbing a man to death in 2002 in Anaconda, Montana. (Montana Department of Corrections)
The Army veteran allegedly opened fire in The Owl Bar at around 10:00 a.m. on that day, 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 the victims are from Anaconda.
Since then, an intense manhunt has been underway in mountainous central Montana, as authorities desperately try to apprehend Brown, who they say is armed and dangerous.
What precipitated the shooting remains unknown.
Michael Paul Brown is wanted in connection to a shooting incident in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, Montana. (Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center)
On Friday evening, authorities released a photo of a shirtless Brown wearing a black shirt, climbing down what appears to be concrete steps. They also announced that they had located a white Ford F-150 truck belonging to Brown, which they say he used to flee the scene of the shooting.
A SWAT team raided his home, but did not locate him.
In a Sunday night update, authorities said the search for Brown included air and ground resources.
The Department of Criminal Investigations in Montana released a new photo of Michael Brown fleeing the scene after allegedly shooting and killing four people at a bar on Aug. 1, 2025. (Department of Criminal Investigations)
Brown was an armor crewman in the Army from January 2001 to May 2005 and served in the National Guard from April 2006 to March 2008, Army Public Affairs confirmed to Fox News Digital. He deployed to Iraq from February 2004 to March 2005 and left the service with the rank of sergeant.
He also served in the Montana National Guard from April 2006 to March 2009.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.