Man shot through windows, rammed car into store before he was killed by police during standoff
By: The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on Friday released extremely detailed surveillance and body camera video surrounding a police-involved shooting right after Christmas on the Westside.
The video shows the suspect shooting through the window of a key shop on the Westside before he traveled to another store and rammed his car through the front door after shooting through it.
Eventually, there was a JSO SWAT Team standoff on the Westside. Drone video showed police shooting the suspect, later identified as Paton Pinette, 26.
According to an incident report, the father of Pinette called police to inform authorities that his son, who he said was dealing with mental health issues and was recently released from a mental health resource center, was the suspect in an early morning burglary at the father’s business on Lenox Avenue. Police said Pinette broke into the business, stole a revolver and started shooting before leaving the store.
The report said when Pinette arrived at his parents’ home, he said, “Should I slice your throats or what?” Then he left the residence. JSO began conducting paperwork to file a Risk Protection Order vs. Pinette, which bans suspects from having a firearm.
Around 3 p.m., JSO received another call from a random man who said Pinette pointed the revolver at him and threatened him, saying “It’s a bad day to garden.” Officers headed over to the SummerWinds Apartment complex on Timuquana Road to learn more about the situation.
The officers attempted to make contact with Pinette but he shot at them twice and they fired back, JSO said. It is unknown if Pinette was hit. Since Pinette was armed, the SWAT team was called.
Investigators took several hours to negotiate with Pinette, JSO said, but when he stepped out of the apartment, he was armed with a revolver in one hand and knife in the other.
JSO said he came out in an “aggressive manner” and went to lift the gun, so a SWAT officer shot him. He died on the scene.
“It was very scary. It was very serious. JSO was the best I had ever seen. They were so patient. They asked this guy not once, but a hundred times, hour after hour; please come out. We will get you help,” Luther Watson said about the situation.
Other neighbors came home from work only to learn they could not go inside the complex because police had entrances blocked.
“It’s kind of shocking. I’ve been here since February of this year and nothing like this has happened. I called ahead of time before coming here from work, they were like something was going down. I pull in and you can’t get in. There are police cars everywhere,” Courtney Loftus said.