Man fired from job, fatally shot after pointing gun at Smith County deputies

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – Deputies and Smith County crime scene investigators are on the scene of a deputy-involved shooting in the Lindale area of Smith County.

The shooting victim has been identified as Jonathan Layton, 40. The shooting happened around 12:50 p.m. at Layton’s family home on County Road 4109, according to the sheriff’s office. The other family members in the home were unharmed. They were identified by family to KLTV as Layton’s mother and his brother.

According to Sheriff’s Office PIO Larry Christian, Layton had been fired from a job in the area earlier in the day.

Layton had been fired from a job in the area earlier in the day, according to Sheriff’s Office PIO Larry Christian, leading to him threatening to return to the company and kill them. That’s when they called 911 for help.

Two responding officers spotted Layton’s car in the front yard of the family’s home. Inside they tried to talk to him; However, he was holding a gun, turned around in the hallway with the gun pointed at the deputies, and according to Christian, that’s when three rounds were shot by one of the deputies.

Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith spoke Tuesday at the scene of a fatal shooting involving a deputy.

He was taken to CHRIST Mother Frances where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy has been ordered. He was taken to the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas.

Additional circumstances surrounding the shooting are still under investigation. The Texas Rangers will lead the investigation.