MIDLAND - It was a tough day for the city of Midland.
Midland County Sheriff's Deputy Mike Naylor was shot and killed while serving a arrest warrant for a child sexual predator.
"There was an exchange of gunfire," Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter said. "A lot of shots were fired, but the initial shot--the first shot--was a surprise to everyone, and he dropped Sergeant Naylor with the first shot."
Helicopters circled the neighborhood at the 3800 block of County Road 1247 for hours. Homes in the area were even evacuated as 37-year-old Dan Higgins barricaded himself in his home.
"We arrived obviously shortly after the call came out and it was very slow moving," Sara Bustilloz, Public Information Officer for the City of Midland, said. "We brought out many of our different units, trying to see if we could negotiate with the suspect, but we weren't able to make contact with him until about 4:30 pm."
Several of those agencies that responded included SWAT, U.S. Marshals, and Midland Police. They knew Higgins was armed and dangerous as they tried to negotiate with him. Higgins ultimately surrendered to authorities.
"He will be housed into Midland County Jail and charged with capital murder, as well as numerous other charges," Sheriff Painter said.
Authorities are well prepared for a situation like this to happen, but unfortunately the fallen was one of their own.
"For a lot of our guys, this is probably somebody that they know," Bustilloz said. "And to come and respond to something like this with such professionalism is just something everybody here has been trained to do. But that doesn't make it any easier."
