North Port Man Shoots His “Possessed” Son in Leg

Roy Alan Lafoy, 64, was charged with attempted murder after he shot his son, Todd Lafoy, 32, twice in the thigh in the front yard of his home on the 3900 block of Caballero Avenue in North Port around 1:30 p.m., according to a report. 

Roy would later tell deputies that he had shot his son to protect a family member after Todd had attacked him and his wife during an intervention, which lasted several hours and was called specifically to address Todd’s frantic mental condition. 

At the time of the shooting, Todd was armed with a butcher knife in the waistband of his pants; moments before, he had held the knife to his own throat threatening to kill himself with it, a report said. 

After Roy shot him in the leg, Todd reportedly threw the knife over a fence and then jumped in a nearby drainage canal to escape the attack, a report states.

An off-duty Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office deputy heard the gunshots; he told his wife to call 911, put on his bullet proof vest, armed himself and ran outside, the report said.

He found Roy at the intersection of Killian Street and Caballero Avenue holding a Tokarev 9mm handgun. Roy told the deputy what had happened and forfeited the gun to the law enforcement officer who went to look for Todd in the canal, a report said.

The deputy found him a couple of blocks away and pulled him from the water, a report said. While the deputy waited for backup from the NPPD, Roy wandered over. His son reportedly became so agitated by his presence that the deputy had to restrain him. Todd allegedly told the deputy, “You will have to kill me!”

NPPD officers had to sick a K-9 on Todd, who was bitten on the right calf and taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital for treatment for the bite and gun shot wounds, a report said.

The officers caught up with the victim at the hospital. He told them he was having mental problems and thought he was possessed. He said he had taken his wife and children to his parents’ house Monday, around 10 a.m., to talk about his problems. During the interview, the victim said his parents insisted he get help for his mental issues, at one point calling the family priest. 

During an interview in the hospital, Todd admitted to pushing his mother down twice, during the course of the day.

The meeting was reportedly so intense, Roy went to the kitchen and put a gun in his pocket in case things got too out of hand, the report shows. Todd also armed himself with the knife just before the father/son team went to look for Todd's wife, who had left the house during one of his tirades.

Roy told authorities that Todd’s son followed them outside and he shot Todd out of concern for his grandson’s safety when Todd began to yell at the boy.

Roy is being held in Sarasota County Jail on a $100,000 bond. The officers working the case have recommended Todd be charged with battery as soon as he is released from the hospital.