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Fish Springs man jailed in fatal shooting

Tribune News Service
A Douglas County deputy leaves the scene with a man in custody on Thursday afternoon.
Shannon Litz | The Record-Courier

An 81-year-old Fish Springs man was in custody Thursday after he allegedly told a neighbor he killed his caretaker with a shotgun.

Melvin Norlund knocked on a neighbor’s door and reported the shooting, according to Sheriff Ron Pierini.

The neighbor contacted Douglas County Emergency Dispatch at 1:22 p.m., and reported what Norlund said.



The man was unarmed, and taken into custody without incident, Pierini said.

Norlund sat in a patrol car at the scene before being taken to Minden for questioning.



The victim was found dead at Norlund’s home in the 1300 block of Homestead Road.

The identity of the victim, a middle-aged woman, was being withheld pending notification of her next of kin.

Douglas County criminal investigators arrived at the scene and cordoned off the home, which is located at the end of Homestead Road off Jacobsen Lane on a 2-acre parcel.

Pierini, who was at the scene, confirmed that Norlund was in custody, and was being interviewed by investigators.

District Attorney Mark Jackson said that his office would be involved in the investigation.

Douglas County Animal Control picked up a dog that was at the house.

According to the Douglas County Recorder’s Office, the home has been owned by the Norlund family since July.

Temperatures approached freezing outside, as a light snow fell in the neighborhood, about five miles east of Gardnerville, located at the base of the Pine Nut Mountains.

This is the first fatal shooting investigation in 2013.


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