GRAY – The Gray man who shot his son before turning the gun on himself Tuesday afternoon dialed 911 just before the killings to request an officer come to the home on Route 115, state police reported Wednesday night.

According to Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland, Daniel McLatchie, 44, of 227 Yarmouth Road, called 911 before fatally shooting his son, 22-year-old Benjamin McLatchie, with a shotgun in the driveway, which sets several hundred feet down a hill off Route 115. When police arrived, the two men were lying on the driveway with a shotgun nearby. Investigators later found two suicide notes written by the father, who McCausland described as a stay-at-home dad.

According to McCausland, Benjamin McLatchie was autistic and one of the suicide notes indicated the father was worried for his son’s future in the event of his or his wife’s death. The other note detailed financial information for the wife, Allison McLatchie, 45, who was at work at the time of the shootings.

According to Jim Whitten, general manager of the nearby Jim Gillies Lumber Co. on Route 115, the neighborhood was barraged by police and news crews Tuesday afternoon. Whitten, who also lives three houses down from the McLatchies, said he had seen the father and son walking the road for exercise several times but “other than that, didn’t know the family.” Other neighbors declined to comment.

“This is a very sad case. They are all sad, but this one is especially so,” said McCausland.