Giovanni Perez, 37, fatally injured his 11-year-old son, Callan West Perez, and then took his own life at Elko Regional Airport in Nevada on April 13, 2026.
Giovanni was reportedly a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and was diagnosed with PTSD, bipolar tendencies, and other mental health issues since his time in the military.
Giovanni’s father, Frank Perez, has now opened up on the series of events leading up to the tragedy that he believes could have been avoided if the respective authorities had intervened in time.
“We were crying for help. We tried to get him help,” Frank said in an emotional statement.
Trigger Warning: This article contains sensitive content that may be distressing for some readers.
Giovanni Perez was allegedly not in his “right mind” when he took his son’s life
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On April 13, Giovanni and Callan were traveling from California to Reno for unknown reasons when their rental vehicle broke down near Winnemucca. They were towed to Elko Regional Airport to secure another car.
The pair was seen entering the restroom twice, and on the last trip, Giovanni used a firearm on his son multiple times at around 12:30 p.m. Leaving Callan behind, he approached a ticket counter and took his own life.
When the authorities arrived, Callan was still alive and was immediately provided medical aid by the first responders. Unfortunately, the 11-year-old succumbed to his wounds on the way to Northeastern Nevada Regional Hospital.
Image credits: Frank Perez/Facebook
According to an LA Times report, Frank always feared something like this would happen. He now blames the system for failing both his grandson and son, who seemingly suffered from frequent episodes of schizophrenia, a psychological condition where a person experiences hallucinations and loses touch with reality.
Frank claimed that it was Giovanni’s time serving as an Army cook that traumatized him: “When he came back, he was changed. He wasn’t the bright-eyed 19-year-old that I remembered.”
“He loved Callan,” Frank added. “He would just have these bouts of mental illness, and unfortunately, this time it won.”
Giovanni’s actions at the airport might have been the result of one such bout, Frank told the Daily Mail.
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“I think he saw something that wasn’t really there, and maybe when he realized what he did, he couldn’t handle it and took his own life,” Frank said. “That’s what I assume.”
He revealed that Giovanni had called his brother for the first time in about two years just before the incident, another sign that things were not right.
Giovanni “would never hurt Callan” had he been in his “right mind,” Frank added.
Callan was the second of Giovanni’s three sons and the only one he had custody of. Frank described the boy as a “smart, joyful kid” who looked up to his dad and dreamed of playing professional football one day.
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A year before the tragedy, Callan participated in a Father of the Year essay program organized by the Merced County Office of Education, in which students of all grade levels submitted essays about their father or a father figure.
Callan came in third in the competition, whose results were announced on June 14, 2025.
Giovanni Perez refused to accept professional help for his mental health struggles
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Frank Perez admitted he tried to get Giovanni professional help, but was unable to, even after two cases of hospitalization.
“He was really scared of the medicines,” Frank said about his son. “He didn’t want to go to treatment, to therapy, and so he would have these manic episodes where he wasn’t in control of himself.”
Giovanni would “hear things” and say “he talked to God,” according to Frank.
During one such incident, Giovanni went into psychosis and believed his father was a “demon” after asking for help from his father to go to the hospital. Frank said that Giovanni would’ve likely fired at him if there had been a firearm around.
Image credits: Frank Perez/Facebook
Giovanni would occasionally get a “little treatment” and be all right for a while before getting worse again.
“We asked him what’s wrong, and it was his illness, and it was his illness,” Frank said. “You could see it.”
Frank further added that Giovanni’s psychological struggles led to two prior arrests in other U.S. cities.
He was detained over an as*ault charge at an airport in Hawaii, but was released on his own recognizance. However, on his way home, he got into trouble at the Seattle airport and was arrested again.
Callan’s grandparents tried to protect the child from Giovanni’s volatility
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Two days after the father and son’s demise, the Elko Police Department revealed in a statement that Callan was legally under Giovanni’s care at the time of his homicide.
Callan’s mother, who wished not to reveal her identity, had been separated from Giovanni for several years but remained in contact with Callan by phone. She told KUTV she had been working to regain custody of him.
Giovanni was embroiled in a custody battle with the family of the boy’s mother, and was “attempting to keep Callan from both the maternal grandparents and his own family.”
Image credits: Frank Perez/Facebook
Frank told the Daily Mail that Callan wanted to stay with both sets of his grandparents rather than with Giovanni, but law enforcement did not take him seriously and rebuffed his wishes.
After Giovanni’s Seattle airport arrest, Callan was temporarily with his maternal grandmother, Jil Chiesa. When the authorities asked Callan whether he wanted to go to his father, he said no and that he wanted to stay with Frank or Jil. But the police sent him away with Giovanni anyway, according to Frank.
“We thought that was so wrong of him to do,” Frank said, “especially if this guy is ab*sive, why would you do that? You know, in case he has an episode and gets angry about that.”
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After this, Frank and Jil tried to gain custody of Callan in the Mariposa County court but failed, as the judge deemed Giovanni financially capable of supporting the child because of his income from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
“We’re not worried that he can’t provide material things,” Frank and Jil had told the court. “We’re worried about when he’s alone with his children and his mental acuity. If it fails him, he can hurt them or not be available.”
That was the last time Frank had seen Callan.
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Image credits: Frank Perez/Facebook
Giovanni cut off contact with the rest of the family in December 2025, and a missing persons report was filed for him and his son in Clovis, where they were living at the time.
The Clovis Police Department followed up multiple times and made contact with him in February 2026. They were found in Utah, and local authorities confirmed that the two were alive and in good health, leading to the case being dismissed.
“That was another place where I didn’t get help,” Frank shared with the Daily Mail.
“Seriously heartbreaking.” The internet grieved for 11-year-old Callan West Perez and his family
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