A child was shot to death by his father in what authorities said was a murder-suicide inside a Nevada airport.
On Monday, April 13, the Elko Police Department announced in a Facebook post that the Elko Regional Airport was closed due to a crime scene investigation.
In an update on Tuesday, April 14, police said in another news release that officers were called to an “active shooter” at the airport that afternoon, when they discovered a man dead near an airline ticket counter.
Multiple people inside the airport pointed officers to nearby restrooms, where they found a boy who was repeatedly shot, according to police.
First responders tried to save the boy, who was ultimately taken to a nearby hospital where he died, police said.
The man found dead by the ticket counter was identified by police as the child’s father, Giovanni Perez, who died by suicide, according to authorities. The boy has been identified as Callan Perez.
Callan was 11 years old, according to KUTV.
“The investigation into this tragic incident is ongoing,” police said. “The Elko Police Department would like to express our deepest condolences to the family of Callan Perez. No family should ever have to experience a loss like this.”
An investigation revealed that before Giovanni and Perez’s deaths, they had been traveling together in a rental car, according to police.
At some point, the car “became disabled outside” Winnemucca and they “were towed to Elko to get another rental vehicle,” police said.
At the Elko Regional Airport, Giovanni and Callan went inside the restroom together “and came back out,” according to police.
“They then entered the restroom a second time together, where Giovanni shot Callan for an unknown reason,” police said in the news release.
Giovanni died afterward, according to police.
The incident resulted in a bomb squad responding to the airport to ensure no explosives were in the car Giovanni had been renting, police said.
All flights to and from the airport were canceled on April 13, the Elko Regional Airport said in a Facebook post.
Airport services were expected to open midday on April 14, the airport said in an update shared to Facebook.
A potential motive for Callan’s killing was not specified by police.
The Elko Regional Airport, located in northeastern Nevada, is about a 230-mile drive west from Salt Lake City, Utah.
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