Jimmy Paiz
Source: Chatham County Sheriff’s Office
A former U.S. Marine was arrested in Georgia for allegedly shooting a 15-year-old boy who was at his front door campaigning for Sen. Raphael Warnock in his runoff election with Republican challenger Herschel Walker.
“At this point, there isn’t any indication the shooting was politically motivated,” Savannah Police said in an announcement.
Thursday’s shooting of the boy, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries to his leg, got here five days before the runoff between the Democratic incumbent Warnock and the previous football star Walker. Neither candidate received greater than 50% of the vote in last month’s election.
The accused shooter, Jimmy Paiz, 43, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and aggravated battery, each of that are felonies, police said. Paiz was being held in lieu of a $5,700 bond on the Chatham County jail.
Police said the incident stays under investigation.
Paiz served nearly 17 years within the Marines, retiring in 2014 as a staff sergeant after several tours in Iraq. He has several children, including a 15-year-old son, in line with the mother of that child.
Police said they responded to a Savannah residence at about 5:35 p.m. ET on Thursday after receiving a report of gunfire. Officers found the 15-year-old boy, who had been shot in his leg.
“In keeping with the preliminary investigation, the teenager was campaigning for Raphael Warnock for the upcoming run-off election when the incident occurred,” police said.
“While on the front door of one among the residences on Hartridge Street, the suspect fired a shot through the closed door, striking the teenager,” cops said.
The boy was taken to Memorial Medical Center for treatment.
Police said officers quickly identified and positioned the suspect Paiz on the residence.
In an announcement to NBC News sent by Warnock’s campaign, the senator said, “I’m saddened to study this incident.”
“I’m praying for the victim and their family and want them a full recovery,” Warnock said.
Rev. Raphael Warnock, Democratic Senator for Georgia speaks to reporters at a midterm election campaign event in Savannah, Georgia, U.S., November 6, 2022.
Bob Strong | Reuters
A Facebook post in 2020 by the Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence contains a portion of a podcast entitled “Picking Your Brain,” where Paiz talks about being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in connection together with his service in Iraq.
The middle is a collaboration of the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to advertise look after veterans affected by brain injuries.
“Retired U.S. Marine Corps SSgt. Jimmy Paiz’s experiences during his tours in Iraq left him battling #PTSD. Due to help from mental health providers, he now has a better time coping together with his day-to-day life,” the Facebook post says.
Paiz’s LinkedIn page describes himself as “an Honduran-American author and maker living in Savannah, GA., although, originally from Metro, DC. — a beltway kid. I write prose poetically concerning the human condition, that’s, existential ruminations about our species’ denial of its animal self, amongst other oddities and interests. Also, I art.”
