On September 30, 2023, in Banner Elk, North Carolina, 51-year-old Michael "Mike" Houser was fatally shot during an altercation with his neighbor, Brenden James Smith, an off-duty detention officer with the Avery County Sheriff's Office. The incident occurred on Teaster Valley Lane around 8 p.m., reportedly stemming from a dispute over a deer that Smith had shot while bow hunting. The wounded deer crossed onto Houser's property, leading to a confrontation between the two men, which escalated into
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