Florida Father Fatally Shoots Special Needs Son at Hospital, Then Turns Gun on Himself: Police

A Florida man was reportedly struggling to care for his adult son, so authorities say he took the man to a hospital, fatally shot him and then turned the gun on himself.

Around 11:30 a.m. on March 14, officers responded to 911 calls regarding a possible shooting at the AdventHealth Hospital in Sebring, according to court documents obtained by WFTS.

Deputies arrived three minutes later and found two men, later identified as 67-year-old Joe E. Landon and his 23-year-old son Noah Ryan Preslet Landon, dead in what was described as a “mental health room.”

Officials said the father contacted authorities earlier that day regarding a confrontation with his son and trying to get him to the hospital for help.

Authorities described the son as “special needs” and that “he was having a very difficult day.”

The detective at the initial scene said there was no indication that the father was “thinking of something this drastic.”

Court records claim the father arrived at the hospital after having difficulties with his son, who was being somewhat “combative.”

Officials said the son was put in a mental health room in the ER. While in the room, the father pulled out a gun and shot two times into a wall in an attempt to get other people out of the room.

The father then shot his son, who was lying on a bed, and then turned the gun on himself, according to the records. Both men died on the scene and nobody else was injured during the incident.

“In recent weeks, he’s been struggling with his son — taking care of him — frustrated he wasn’t getting no help from outside sources," a friend of the family told WFTS. "I think that was the only solution he had in his own mind.”

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In a statement, the hospital said, “We want to reassure everyone that no team members were harmed. We continue to offer confidential mental health resources and our chaplains are currently on site to support our AdventHealth Sebring family. Team members from nearby AdventHealth facilities have also been brought in to allow those employees who were working at the time of the incident to return home.”