Fired Texas Man Who Threatened Employer Shot Dead by Smith County Officers

(Lindale, Texas) - A man who was fired from his job and threatened to return to kill his employer is now dead.

We received information from the Smith County Sheriff's Office about an officer-involved shooting that happened in Lindale. Texas Rangers are now investigating what happened.

On Tuesday, November 5, at approximately 12:50 pm, Smith County deputies responded to a threat call at a business in Lindale.

The 911 caller reported that an employee had just been terminated and made threats that he was going home and would return to the business to kill them. Prior to the arrival of deputies, the suspect left the business, and his vehicle description was given.

One of the responding deputies saw the suspect vehicle headed south on US Hwy 69 just prior to receiving this information. Deputies responded to the 13200 block of CR 4109 just east of Lindale to attempt contact with the suspect regarding the threats.

The Suspect Was Identified As 40-Year-Old Jonathan Layton.

Layton’s vehicle was in the front yard of a residence when deputies attempted to contact Layton at the residence, he turned around holding a handgun pointed in their direction.

One of the deputies fired at Layton with his duty weapon incapacitating him. UT Health EMS was immediately summoned to the location and transported Jonathan Layton to the Christus Emergency Room in Lindale where he was later pronounced deceased.

An autopsy was ordered and the deceased was then transported to the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas. The Texas Rangers responded to the scene to conduct the investigation into the Deputy involved shooting per Smith County protocol.