Los Angeles, Aug 2: Four people were killed in a bar shooting in Anaconda, US state of Montana, local media reported, citing law enforcement officials.

The shooting occurred on Friday at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, a city located in southwestern Montana, Xinhua news agency reported quoting NBC Montana.

The suspect was identified as Michael Paul Brown, according to a Facebook post by the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center.

"Be advised suspect in shooting is believed to be armed and dangerous," said the post.

Officials posted a photo of the suspect on Facebook and advised the public to stay out of the Stumptown area and surrounding areas.

Montana Highway Patrol also said in a Facebook post that there is a "heavy law enforcement presence west of Anaconda near Stumptown Road and Anderson Ranch Loop Road."

"Authorities are searching for a suspect believed to be armed. Please avoid the area," the agency added.

As reports of the shooting spread through town, business owners locked their doors and sheltered inside with customers. At Caterpillars to Butterflies Childcare, a nursery a few blocks from the shooting scene, owner Sage Huot said she'd kept the children inside all day after someone called to let her know about the violence.

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

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

(IANS)

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