A man is facing five charges after police say he fired a gun during a physical fight on the 900 block of West 5th Street last Friday morning. The man he allegedly shot at has not been found, and police are now asking that person, or anyone who saw what happened, to come forward.
According to the Reno Police Department, officers responded around 10 a.m. last Friday to a reported assault involving a firearm. Surveillance video reviewed by investigators captured a physical confrontation between two men, followed by 41-year-old Ryan West allegedly firing one shot toward the other man. That man had already left the area by the time officers arrived, and police say they are still working to identify and locate him.
Reno police used their Drone as a First Responder program to spot a man matching the suspect's description near Interstate 80, and ground units moved in to detain him near the Washington Street bridge. The department's fleet of docked quadcopters, positioned at three stations around the city, is designed to give officers real-time aerial views on emergency calls, and 2News Nevada reports the program logged more than 11,000 deployments in just the first seven months of 2026.
A Familiar Tactic for Reno Police
This is not the first time the drone program has helped close out a fast-moving foot chase. The same outlet notes that in July, a DFR pilot held visual contact on an armed assault suspect hiding near Kietzke Lane and Virginia Street after he crashed a vehicle and ran, allowing ground officers to set up containment and make an arrest.
The program has not been without controversy. A Change.org petition launched in May called on city officials to end the drone contract altogether, citing privacy concerns and an estimated $1.9 million multi-year cost to taxpayers, even as officials maintain the aerial units improve officer safety and response times.
Ghost Gun Adds Another Layer of Charges
Officers recovered a 9mm handgun with no serial number at the scene, along with a spent shell casing. That detail carries its own legal weight: the Nevada Supreme Court upheld Assembly Bill 286 in April 2024, banning the possession, sale, or transfer of untraceable firearms statewide, as detailed by The Nevada Independent. The outlet also reports that Justice Department data shows ghost gun recoveries nationwide jumped from fewer than 1,700 in 2017 to more than 27,000 by 2023, a trend the U.S. Supreme Court addressed with a March 2025 ruling upholding federal serialization requirements.
West was booked into the Washoe County Jail on five charges: assault with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm where a person might be endangered, drawing a weapon in a threatening manner, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, and possession of a firearm without an issued serial number. The assault charge alone is a Category B felony under Nevada Revised Statutes § 200.471, carrying a potential 1 to 6 years in state prison and a fine of up to $5,000, according to state law. The concealed carry charge is a Category C felony under NRS § 202.350, which can bring 1 to 5 years in prison and fines up to $10,000, per the Las Vegas Defense Group.
Violent Crime Numbers in Context
The incident lands amid a broader pattern in Reno's crime data. CityRating.com reports the city recorded 1,568 violent crimes in 2025, including 1,093 aggravated assaults. Statewide, aggravated assault made up the bulk of Nevada's violent crime total in 2025, according to Morris Injury Law, even as overall violent crime fell 5.8% compared to the year before.
Police say the search for the man who was allegedly shot at continues, and investigators are urging anyone involved in or who witnessed the incident to come forward, noting that witness information may prove important to the case. Anyone with details can contact the Reno Police Department at (775) 334-COPS. West is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
