Gardnerville Ranchos standoff subject may have called 911 on himself

A man who authorities say appeared to hace called 911 to say someone was pointing a firearm at people at the Ranchos Sandpits was taken into custody on Thursday after he tried to get deputies to shoot him.

Deputies responded to the area around 3:12 p.m. where Gardnerville resident Brandon Nadler was seen with the weapon.

“As the deputy approached, Nadler presented — but did not point — a handgun at the deputy,” according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. “The deputy tactically backed away as Brandon advanced toward him, repeatedly yelling, ‘shoot me.’”

After reviewing the original 911 call, it appeared that Nadler made the original call reporting someone was pointing a gun at people.

Additional deputies responded to the scene and worked to de-escalate the issue. At one point when Nadler was walking away, deputies were ordered to hold their position.

“During the encounter, Brandon fired his handgun multiple times into the ground, appearing to provoke a confrontation with deputies,” according to the Sheriff’s Office. “Brandon then walked southbound into the nearby alfalfa fields. Deputies maintained verbal communication, continuing their efforts to convince him to surrender peacefully.”

The Sheriff’s Office deployed its BearCat armored vehicle and approached Brandon to facilitate less-lethal use-of-force options.

“Upon the BearCat’s approach, Brandon dropped his firearm and was safely taken into custody without injury,” the Sheriff’s Office reported.

Neither deputies nor Nadler were harmed during the incident.

Nadler was booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, possession of a firearm while intoxicated and discharging a firearm in a roadway.

"Additional charges may be forthcoming pending the outcome of the investigation," according to the Sheriff's Office. "No bail amount has been set at this time."

"No deputies or the suspect was injured. He is in custody and there is no threat to the community."

While initially described as a manhunt, it doesn't appear that law enforcement ever lost sight of Nadler during the incident.

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A manhunt concluded with the arrest of a man in a field around 4:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon.

"The incident in the Ranchos Sandpits involved a subject with a gun," Undersheriff Ron Elges said. 

Douglas County Sheriff's Deputies blocked off Tillman at Patricia and Dressler at Heritage as they sought an armed man who may have run from a vehicle.

The incident was ongoing for longer than 90 minutes, with medics called to the Ranchos Sandpit at around 3:12 p.m.

The Special Weapons and Tactics team was called in along with two drones to find him. Members of the Washoe Tribe and Nevada State Police also responded.