N.J. AG’s office identifies gunman killed by police in Princeton Panera Bread standoff

The man who police fatally shot Tuesday after a roughly five-hour standoff at a restaurant near Princeton University has been identified as Scott Mielentz.

Aaron Moselle

March 21, 2018

The front of Panera Bread is visible from Princeton University's campus. (Alan Tu/WHYY)

The gunman who police fatally shot Tuesday after a roughly five-hour standoff at a restaurant near Princeton University has been identified as Scott Mielentz.

Authorities say Mielentz, 56, most recently lived in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The Garden State native previously lived in the nearby Bucks County community of Newtown, Pennsylvania, and Jupiter, Florida.

Court records show Mielentz filed for bankruptcy twice – once in Pennsylvania and once in Florida.

Mielentz walked into Panera Bread with a gun around 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Customers and Panera employees were able to flee the scene after Mielentz entered.

Police killed him just before 3 p.m. after Mielentz continued refusing to surrender peacefully, according to the state attorney general’s office. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured.

It’s still not clear what caused the standoff.

The incident closed nearby businesses and a busy intersection that borders the Princeton campus.

Classes are not in session this week during spring break, according to Princeton’s website.

The state Attorney General Office’s Shooting Response Team is continuing to investigate the officer-involved shooting.

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