Police investigate North Beach shooting after carjacking – My Ballard

A driver shot and killed an 18-year-old man in his vehicle in North Beach on Saturday.

According to the police report, the victim, Slater Paoletti, told police he saw a man trying to open car doors through the car window of a blue Hyundai Sonata while driving on 31st Ave NW, south of NW 87th St. Paoletti said Norden drove. He then took a photo of the carjacker’s vehicle. The motorist must have seen Paoletti take the photo because he began following Paoletti and then began ramming the rear of Paoletti’s vehicle.

Paoletti slammed on the brakes and the driver pulled up next to him. He said the driver of the Hyundai rolled down the passenger window, pointed a black handgun at him and told him to get out of the car. Paoletti refused, and the carjacker fired a single bullet from inside his vehicle, striking the door handle of Paoletti’s vehicle, a 2004 Subaru Forester.

Paoletti told police he “felt the heat on his face” and thought he had been shot. He immediately fled north on 31st Avenue NW and east on NW 88th St. The shooter followed Paoletti but eventually fled in a different direction as Paoletti turned north on 30th.

Paoletti, who was uninjured, called the police. The bullet lodged in the door panel of his vehicle.

Police conducted a spot check but were unable to locate the suspect. After running the license plates, they determined the Hyundai had been stolen from Bellevue sometime late Friday or earlier Saturday.

Police eventually found the vehicle unoccupied and searched for fingerprints.

Paoletti described the suspect as a black male in his 20s wearing a ski mask/face covering and a black sweatshirt. He said the man had a strong Jamaican accent.

The police are investigating the incident.

Photo: 31st Ave NW and NW 88th St. Google Image Capture April 2021