A dad who was recently praised by his young son in a ‘father of the year’ essay gunned him down in an airport bathroom moments before taking his own life. 

Giovanni Perez, 37, killed 11–year–old Callan and then himself at Elko Regional Airport in Nevada earlier this month.

The father and son had been traveling together when their rental car suddenly broke down outside Winnemucca. They were towed to Elko to pick up a new vehicle.

Both of them entered an airport restroom twice, and during the second time, authorities said Perez fatally shot Callan.

Perez then left and took his own life near a ticket counter, according to the Elko Police Department, which responded to reports of an active shooter at the airport on April 13.

Callan was taken to the North Eastern Nevada Regional Hospital but did not survive.

He had finished in third place in a father of the year essay contest organized by the Merced County Office of Education in California last June.

The essays were meant to reflect what each person’s parent meant to them and how they had helped shape their lives.

Giovanni Perez, 37, killed his son Callan, 11, (orange shirt) and himself at Elko Regional Airport in Nevada on April 13

Callan was shot by his father in the bathroom. He was taken to hospital, where he died from his injuries

A bomb squad was also called to Elko airport to process the family’s vehicle for explosive devices.

No explosives were found inside the car.

A GoFundMe started to raise money for Callan’s funeral and family said he was ‘taken from us at the hands of someone who was supposed to protect him.’

‘Callan was so much more than this tragedy,’ the fundraiser read. ‘He was incredibly smart, funny, and kind – wise beyond his years.’

The fundraiser added that Callan ‘deserved so much more life, so many more laughs, and a future that was stolen far too soon.’

As of Wednesday morning, it had raised about $12,000 of an initial $13,000 goal.

The GoFundMe was started for a relative of Callan named Jil Chiesa, who wrote last Saturday on Facebook that she was ‘receiving and holding on tightly to anything positive right now.’

She shared that Callan’s fourth-grade teacher told her that a Redwood tree named after the boy would be planted at the school.

Callan’s friends had also named a classroom pet guinea pig after him, according to Chiesa.

‘Sweet Callan would be thrilled,’ she wrote. ‘Our sweet angel is smiling down, I just know it.’

A fundraiser for Callan said that he ‘deserved so much more life, so many more laughs, and a future that was stolen far too soon’

Callan’s father had attempted to ‘keep’ him from his maternal grandparents and his own family, police said

The murder-suicide happened at Elko Regional Airport in Nevada around noon on April 13, according to the Elko police

On Wednesday afternoon, Elko police told the Daily Mail that it was ‘still following up on where both Perez and Callan were living at the time of their deaths.’

A spokesman confirmed that father and son had ‘ties’ to Merced, California, and told the Daily Mail that a missing person’s report had been filed out of Clovis last December.

No further details were provided about that report but they were found a month later in Ogden, Utah.

‘Ogden was the last place we believe they were living, but we are trying to follow up on that,’ a spokesman for Elko police told the Daily Mail.

Last Thursday, an update from the force said Perez claimed he was suffering from post–traumatic stress disorder ‘due to his time in the military.’

‘We are investigating what Giovanni did in the military,’ police said in a statement.

Perez was in a custody battle with Callan’s maternal grandparents, according to law enforcement.

He was ‘attempting to keep Callan from both the maternal grandparents and his own family,’ police said.

Perez and Callan were traveling to the Reno area ‘for some unknown reason’ when the murder–suicide happened, according to police.

Their statement added: ‘We still do not have a motive for this horrific incident and may never know why Callan’s life was taken.’

Callan had been a fourth grader at Luther Burbank Elementary School in Merced, California. Above, with a relative

Elko police told the Daily Mail that they believed Ogden, Utah, had been their last place of residence but still could not confirm that

Perez claimed he was suffering from PTSD ‘due to his time in the military,’ according to police

Callan had been a fourth grader at Luther Burbank Elementary School in Merced, almost nine hours southeast of Elko, according to the award announcement.

However, he had not been enrolled for the current school year, the Merced City School District told the Merced Sun–Star.

‘This is an unimaginable tragedy and our prayers and thoughts are with the family,’ the school district said, per the outlet.

Frank Perez, who identified himself as Perez’s father and Callan’s grandfather, wrote on a public social media profile that both would be buried at the military cemetery in Santa Nella, California.

He added that Perez and Callan would receive military honors and a ‘full military send off.’

‘Giovanni provided well for all his sons, including full university funding,’ Frank added. ‘His battle with mental illness does not reflect on the great father and son he was.’

Callan’s mother, who was not identified by name, told KUTV that she had been separated from her son for multiple years but stayed in touch over the phone.

She had been working to regain custody of Callan, according to the outlet.

The mother added that Perez had been served in the US Army for about four years as a cook and had been deployed to Iraq.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Frank Perez, Chiesa and Elko Regional Airport for further comment.

If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.