By Tim Gardner
Further details from law enforcement reports have indicated that a fight between two neighbors about a deer led to a deadly shooting last Saturday night in Avery County.
Law enforcement authorities said the altercation on Teaster Valley Lane in the Banner Elk area started when Brenden James Smith, an Avery County Sheriff’s Detention Officer, got into a fight with Michael Andrew Houser.
Witnesses reportedly said that Smith, who lived directly across Elk River, was bow hunting, and that one of his arrows struck a deer that then crossed the river and collapsed in a field near Houser’s home.
The witnesses added that’s when Smith, who was off duty from his job at the time, and Houser got into a heated argument. Law enforcement authorities said that Smith has been accused of then shooting and killing Houser.
Only one gun was found at the scene of the incident, also according to law enforcement authorities.
In a press release, Avery Sheriff Mike Henley said deputies responded to an emergency call at 289 Teaster Lane and that Houser had sustained a single gunshot wound and was pronounced dead a short time after deputies arrived there.
Sheriff Henley also said that Smith remained at the scene following the shooting and has been placed on administrative leave from his job pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation into the incident.
Sheriff Henley added that due to the involvement of a Sheriff’s Office employee, the investigation is being conducted by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI), a state-level law enforcement agency.
Established in 1937, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation provides investigative assistance to local law enforcement agencies when requested by police, sheriffs, district attorneys, and/or judges. Its main office is located in Raleigh, with eight district offices state-wide.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has not charged anyone in the shooting.
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