Panera gunman, shot dead by police, had a BB gun
The man who held police at bay for several hours from inside the Panera Bread location on Nassau Street and who was fatally shot by state troopers inside the store had been armed with a BB gun, state officials say.
That information and surveillance video were first released by the state Office of the Attorney General Monday, in response to several Open Public Records Act requests.
Am edited video provided by the AG's office reflects just five minutes of the hours-long encounter, without sound, and includes narrative text provided by the office. New Jersey 101.5 has not yet received more complete footage and records requested following the standoff.
On the morning of March 20, Scott Mielentz, 56, who most recently lived in Lawrenceville, entered the store with a firearm - identified in a media release Monday as a Crossman PFM BB Pistol - as employees and patrons fled. Just before 10:30 a.m., police got a call saying "there's a guy with a gun at Panera,"
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