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OFFICIALS: Man who threatened his former employer dead after Smith County deputy-involved shooting

The Texas Rangers are investigating as a part of normal protocol for an officer-involved shooting, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith said.

LINDALE, Texas — A 40-year-old man who officials say was fired from his job and threatened his employer was killed in a Smith County deputy-involved shooting Tuesday afternoon. 

According to the Smith County Sheriff's Office, the employer reported just before 1 p.m. that Jonathan Layton, 40, had been terminated from his job and he made threats that he was going home and would return to the Lindale business to kill them.

Before Smith County deputies could get to the scene, Layton had left the business, but the responding deputies saw Layton's vehicle headed south on US Highway 69 just prior to receiving this information, the sheriff's office said. 

Deputies responded to Layton's home in the 13200 block of CR 4109 just east of Lindale to contact Layton regarding the threats. When they tried to contact him, Layton turned around holding a handgun pointed in their direction, At the point, one of the deputies fired their weapon and Layton was taken to the hospital, where died, the SCSO said. 

An autopsy was ordered and he was transported to the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences in Dallas.

The Texas Rangers are investigating as a part of normal protocol for an officer-involved shooting, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith said.

Smith said the deputies did everything by the book and they practiced what they were trained to do. He added the deputies will be put on leave for a couple days. 

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