Eustis police captain released from hospital after bullet removed from his back

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Eustis police captain who was shot Thursday was released from the hospital Friday after doctors removed a bullet from his back.

Police said Eustis police Capt. Gary Winheim confronted 38-year-old Jayson Colvin after gunfire was reported at about 12:15 p.m. in the parking lot of a Winn-Dixie store at State Road 19 and County Road 44.

Colvin shot Winheim behind the left ear, with the bullet traveling down his neck before it lodged in his back.

Read: Man who shot Eustis police captain killed during standoff

A Marion County Sheriff’s Office helicopter was later able to track Colvin hiding beneath a canoe along a lake, according to deputies.

Colvin died during a standoff with police after a SWAT team caught up with him.

Officials said Winheim, who has been with the agency for more than 10 years, was flown to Orlando Regional Medical Center in stable condition.

Eustis police Chief Gary Calhoun said if the bullet had hit Winheim a millimeter from where it did, the situation could have been much worse.

Winheim paid a brief visit to the Eustis Police Department headquarters Friday before heading home to rest.

WATCH: Cruise ships collide at Cozumel port

Tim King, a Eustis mechanic, told Channel 9 on Friday that Colvin pointed a gun at his head Thursday afternoon, minutes before Colvin shot Winheim.

King, who was at his auto shop, said he saw Colvin return to an adjacent Shell gas station that he had previously robbed two days earlier to retrieve a duffel bag from beneath an air-conditioning unit.

He said he “could tell he was on a mission.”

“My brother saw the gun, and when I confronted (Colvin) around the corner. He basically put the gun to me and said, ‘I’m just coming here to get my stuff. Get the hell away from me or I’m going to shoot you,’” King said. “He didn’t pull the trigger that time, but when I turned around, he started shooting off rounds. So I ran into the corner here and slid into the office here.”

King said he is grateful he escaped unscathed.

“He seemed like he had no problem pulling the trigger. He had no problems hurting anybody. I mean, he shot the officer," he said. “(I’m) just glad I’m going to be here for Christmas.”

© 2019 Cox Media Group