Pahrump man injured in gunfire with deputy
A Nye County deputy shot and injured a man on Tuesday morning, according to reports from the sheriff’s office.
Nye County Sheriff Joe McGill told the Pahrump Valley Times the incident occurred at a residence along Bunarch Road
at approximately 7:30 a.m. onMay 14.
“We received a call for a welfare check of an individual at an address on Bunarch Road,” McGill said. “When the deputy responded, he knocked on the door and announced himself, when at some point, a male subject came out onto the front porch with a gun pointed directly at the deputy. The deputy fired and the suspect also fired at some point during the encounter.”
The suspect, according to the Nye County Detention Center, was identified as Pahrump resident Michael Byers.
“The deputy was not injured, but the suspect received a superficial gunshot wound,” according to McGill. “He was transported to Desert View Hospital where he was treated and released before being booked into the Nye County Detention Center.”
Though at least four shell casings were found on the driveway of the home, it’s unclear how many shots were fired during the encounter.
McGill explained why Nye County District Attorney Brian Kunzi responded to the scene at approximately 11:40 p.m.
“We have talked to Kunzi in the past about wanting to respond to critical incidents, and that’s honestly that’s a good thing because we’ll have a different set of eyes that’s looking at the situation from a different perspective,” he noted. “They have responded during other critical incidents in the past, so you shouldn’t read anything into that.”
An officer from Nye County Animal Control was also summoned to the scene to secure two unattended dogs on the property.
Sheriff’s office deputies and detectives cleared the scene at approximately 3 a.m.
Byers was charged with two counts of alleged attempted murder, along with two counts of alleged assault on a protected person.
Bail amount was set at $510,000 according to Nye County Detention Center documents.
McGill said an official statement from the sheriff’s office is forthcoming.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com, or on X: @pvtimes
