On December 13, 2024, 40-year-old Joshua Johns was shot dead inside his Panama City home during a targeted attack by 67-year-old Newell Mock. The attack followed a domestic dispute between Mock and his wife, Rhonda, in Gulf County; Mock took Rhonda’s car and phone, drove to the SweetBay neighborhood where Rhonda’s daughter Jessica and her husband Joshua lived, and forced entry. Jessica and Joshua were both shot multiple times while their two young children, ages 5 and 7, slept upstairs. Officers arrived minutes after dispatch and found Mock seated on the front porch still armed; he fatally shot himself after refusing to communicate with police. Officers did not fire their weapons.

Jessica was critically injured and taken to a hospital; the children were found unharmed and placed with family. Investigators say Mock’s actions were aimed at Rhonda’s family, and alcohol may have played a role. A GoFundMe organized by Jessica’s sister, Molly Vise, has raised over $99,000 to help with medical and funeral expenses and household needs as Jessica recovers. If anyone knew the family or witnessed events in the SweetBay area that night, please share information with investigators.