A Florida man angry at his wife shot his stepdaughter and killed her husband earlier this month before killing himself.
Panama City Police provided updated information about the incident, which took place on December 13.
Neighbors reported shots fired that night, and officers arrived to find Newell Mock, 67, on the front porch. He refused to engage with them and ultimately shot himself. A man was found dead inside the home, with a woman seriously wounded. Fortunately, two young children who were sleeping in the home were unharmed.
According to authorities, Mock had an argument with his wife, 65-year-old Rhonda Mock, at their Gulf County residence earlier that evening. During the altercation, Mock grabbed a handgun, causing Rhonda Mock to escape the premises. Unable to locate his wife, Mock went to the residence of his stepdaughter, Jessica Johns, 40, in Panama City.
Mock forcibly entered the house and proceeded to shoot Jessica Johns and her husband, Joshua Johns, 40, multiple times. The tragic incident left Jessica Johns seriously injured and her husband deceased. The sequence of events unfolded tragically, leading to devastating outcomes for those involved.
Officers arrived less than three minutes later to find Mock on the front porch. He refused their attempt to talk and shot himself. Police said he did not threaten the officers, and officers did not fire their own weapons.
When officers entered the home, they found Joshua Johns dead and his wife critically wounded. Their 5- and 7-year-old children were still upstairs. A police chaplain remained with them until other family members could be brought to the home.
“His anger was really directed at his wife, but when he couldn’t expel that anger towards her, he decided to hurt her family, in order to hurt her,” Panama City Police Chief Mark Smith told WJHG.
