KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Deputies responded to a home in Kissimmee on Friday afternoon after an elderly man with dementia shot his son, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
In a release, deputies said they headed to 103 Westmoreland Circle shortly before 1 p.m. after the shooting was called in.
Upon arrival, they learned that the senior — identified as Billy Leroy Barr, 84 — had shot his son, a man in his 50s, the release shows.
After being interviewed, Barr was placed under arrest and now faces charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon; shooting into an occupied dwelling; and improper exhibition of a firearm.
Residents nearby say they were stunned to see law enforcement flood the normally peaceful street. Just doors down, neighbor Gigi German said the situation was heartbreaking.
“Just hearing that — it’s so sad, and this is a very quiet neighborhood,” German said.
German said the incident hit close to home, as she cares for a loved one with similar health challenges.
“I got my mom here and she is 95 and she has a little bit of dementia… I know how it is, so it’s a sad thing, and he is sick — he doesn’t know,” she said.
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Investigators added that both the father and son had been living at the house together, though deputies have responded there three times now over the past 10 days due to “verbal altercations” that broke out between them.
While the incident has left neighbors shaken, German said it has not made her feel unsafe — but rather sympathetic toward the family.
“It’s sad all around. It’s a family thing. God knows what happened and what was going on,” she said.
Now, the son is in surgery for his injuries, deputies revealed.
No additional information has been released at this time.