EUREKA COUNTY, Nev. — A man from Nevada City, California was shot and killed by law enforcement in Nevada after a shootout, according to the Eureka County Sheriff's Office.
The suspect was identified as Zachery Isaiah Minissale, 34. In a news release from Sheriff Jesse Watts, he said Minissale died after opening fire on law enforcement and engaging with them for over a minute.
The incident dates back to June 16 when Minissale was heading south on State Route 278 and tried to go around construction barricades and a flagger. Sheriff Watts said Minissale shot a Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) employee in the right chest and left ear when the employee approached and tried to stop him from going around.
Authorities said Minissale drove away heading southbound as an NDOT employee flagged down a nearby sergeant with the Nevada Highway Patrol. The sergeant told dispatchers that the suspect was in a white panel van with bullet holes in the windshield.
Undersheriff Tyler Thomas and an NHP trooper encountered Minissale, but, according to the sheriff's office, Minissale passed the two of them at high speed along S.R. 278. A chase started and later came to an end after the sheriff's office used spike strips on the roadway, which caused the suspect's vehicle to go off the road and crash into some sagebrush.
Sheriff Watts said it was less than a minute after the crash that Minissale opened fire on himself, Undersheriff Tyler Thomas, and an NHP officer. The undersheriff and NHP officer returned fire. He said law enforcement and the suspect engaged each other in the shootout for over a minute until another NHP officer arrived and Undersheriff Thomas fired twice more, hitting the suspect in the head and ending the gunfight.
Sheriff Watts said Minissale was down, but law enforcement on scene wasn't able to tell until additional resources came in. Once they did learn that, he said medical aid was provided, but Minissale was eventually pronounced dead.
While waiting for those resources, Sheriff Watts said authorities ran a license plate check on the suspect and learned that Minissale was a suspect in a California homicide. ABC10 reached out to the Nevada County Sheriff's Office for more information on the homicide, but the inquiry was not immediately returned.
To view the full video press release from the Eureka County Sheriff's Office, click HERE or view it below.
WATCH ALSO:
