Joe Landon: Florida father fatally shoots son with special needs after taking him to hospital

HIGHLANDS COUNTY, FLORIDA: Deputies in Highlands County, Florida, say that after a father who struggled to care for his son brought him to the hospital to shoot him dead and turned the gun on himself.

The sheriff's office identified the son as 23-year-old Noah Ryan Presley Landon and the father as 67-year-old Joe E Landon in an email to Law&Crime.

At 11:26 am on Thursday, March 14 Sheriff Paul Blackman and his staff reported receiving 911 calls regarding a potential shooting at the AdventHealth Hospital in Sebring.

Two men were found dead 'mental health room'

When deputies got there in three minutes, they discovered two men dead in a room that was identified as a 'mental health room'.

The younger man, who the sheriff referred to as having 'special needs' had been having 'a rough day', according to the 23-year-old. He was having an extremely challenging day.

The detective at the first scene, according to Blackman, stated that there was no sign the father was "thinking of something this drastic." “From the preliminary investigation, it appears a 66-year-old Sebring man brought his adult son to the hospital,” the sheriff’s office wrote.

It further read, “Reportedly, the father was having difficulties with his son, who was being somewhat combative.”

Father struggled to care for his own health issues

After the son was placed in an emergency room mental health room, the father appeared to be trying to get other people out of the room by pulling out a gun and shooting into a wall. Blackman said there were two initial shots.

“He then shot his son, who was lying on a bed, and then shot himself,” authorities wrote. “Both men died on the scene. There were no other injuries.”

Ben Tucciarone, a friend, told WFTS​ that he knew it was Landon and the son involved as soon as he heard.​ “I knew immediately,” Tucciarone said. “Very tragic. Very tragic.”​

He claimed that the father was finding it difficult to care for his own health issues in addition to his son.​

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

“Reach out to the state and get some help,” s advised Tucciarone, who also has an adult son who is disabled. “Don’t ever hurt your child.”​

“You can always call 988 and get some help on the line, or you can call the sheriff’s office, and we’ll be more than happy to send someone there to try to work with you through that problem,” Sheriff Blackman said.​

AdventHealth Sebring confirmed no team members were injured

A statement about the tragedy was released by the hospital, "Following the incident that occurred in the Emergency Room at AdventHealth Sebring late Thursday morning, we want to reassure everyone that no team members were harmed."

The statement further added, "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. AdventHealth Sebring will continue to support the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office as they investigate. The Emergency Room at AdventHealth Sebring has resumed normal operations," it concluded.