Police investigating shooting in North Beach following car prowl

A car prowler shot at a 18-year-old man while he was 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 he was driving north on 31st Ave NW, just south of NW 87th St. Paoletti then took a photo of the car prowler’s vehicle. The car prowler must have seen Paoletti take the photo, because he began to follow Paoletti, and then started ramming the rear of Paoletti’s vehicle.

Paoletti slammed on his brakes, and the car prowler pulled up alongside him. He said the driver of the Hyundai rolled down his passenger window and pointed a black handgun at him, telling him to get out of the car. Paoletti refused, and the car prowler fired a single round 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 might have been shot. He immediately fled north on 31st Ave NW and east on NW 88th St. The shooter followed Paoletti but eventually took off in a different direction when Paoletti turned north on 30th.

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

Police did an area check but didn’t locate the suspect. After running the plates, they discovered that the Hyundai had been stolen from Bellevue sometime late Friday or earlier on Saturday.

Police eventually found the vehicle unoccupied and are checking 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 strong Jamaican accent.

Police are investigating the incident.

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