NYE COUNTY (KTNV) — A welfare check led to a deputy-involved shooting in Pahrump this week.
According to the Nye County Sheriff's Office, the incident began on Tuesday after dispatch received a call at 7:38 p.m. from someone asking for a welfare check. Sheriff Joe McGill said the caller told them they had not seen the resident, identified as 81-year-old Michael Byers, in a week and they were concerned he might be hurt or dead inside the home.
Deputy Nicholas Huggins went to Byers' home, which is on Bunarch Road.
Huggins can be seen knocking on the front door and when no one responded, he walked around the home and looked into windows to see if he could see anyone inside. Body camera footage showed that when Huggins went back to the front door, Byers came outside and was holding a gun.
Huggins can be heard asking Byers to put the gun down and Huggins starts walking back to his patrol vehicle. You can also hear gunshots ring out.
According to McGill, Huggins fired the first five shots and Byers then fired two shots. Byers then went back inside his house and called 911 at 8:06 p.m.
In the 911 call, you can hear Byers ask the operator why the sheriff was at his house, why they didn't "make an easier entrance", and that he would put his gun away and come outside.
Byers was taken into custody and after he was checked out for superficial wounds at Desert View Hospital, he was booked into the Nye County Detention Center.
He's facing several charges including attempted murder and assault on a protected person with a deadly weapon.
Huggins has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure following a deputy-involved shooting. He was hired in March 2021 and this is the third deputy-involved shooting he has been involved in, according to McGill.
You can watch the full press briefing here.
