Carson City deputy killed in line of duty; suspect dead

Associated Press

Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015 | 10:13 a.m.

A Nevada sheriff's deputy was killed early Saturday after a man opened fire on law enforcement officers responding to a domestic violence call.

The man was later found dead at the scene of the confrontation, which happened a little after 2 a.m. in a residential neighborhood in east Carson City.

Carson City sheriff's officials said deputies were responding to reports of domestic battery and found an injured woman. Within minutes, a man came out of the house shooting, killing one of the deputies.

A neighbor, who was afraid to give her name and spoke on condition of anonymity, said she awoke to hearing gunshots and peered out a glass door where she saw the deputy fall to the ground after the man fired shots. She said she watched as another deputy dragged the fallen deputy away from the house before others returned gunfire.

Additional officers responded and got three children out of the single-story house. They ranged in age from 8 to 13.

It wasn't clear how the man who shot the deputy ultimately died. The Reno Police Department has taken over the investigation.

Carson City deputies at the home could be seen consoling one another and wiping away tears near barricades and crime scene tape.

Details about the deputy and the suspect were not immediately released, but Michael Sean Giurlani, president of the Nevada State Law Enforcement Officers' Association, said the deputy was married with four young children.

"It's a ripple that's kind of hit all of us very, very hard," he said Saturday from Carson City, where he was with sheriff's deputies, including the slain deputy's former partner.

"It's a small community and we all know each other," he said.

This appears to be the first time a Carson City sheriff's deputy has been shot and killed on duty since 1867. A deputy for the related Ormsby County sheriff's office died in 1963 in a car accident.

The last time a member of law enforcement was killed in Nevada was in June 2014, when officers Igor Soldo and Alyn R. Beck were gunned down at a Las Vegas restaurant while on duty.

Giurlani, who is a retired state trooper, said a vigil for the deputy was planned for 8 p.m. Saturday at the Nevada Law Enforcement Memorial in Carson City.

Gov. Brian Sandoval released a statement Saturday saying he was deeply saddened by the shooting.

"The Nevada family lost one of its finest public servants today," he said. "The death of this dedicated officer is a sobering reminder of the sacrifices our men and women in uniform courageously make each and every day as they protect our communities."