Those killed on Friday were a bartender and three patrons, ranging in age from 59 to 74, the authorities said. The suspect fled into the nearby foothills.

Michael Paul Brown, 45, fled the Owl Bar in the town of Anaconda in a white pickup truck but ditched it at some point, said Lee Johnson, administrator of the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, which is overseeing the case. He urged residents late Friday to stay at home and remain on high alert.

A shooting at a Montana bar left four dead Friday, prompting a lockdown in a neighborhood several miles away as authorities searched for the suspect.