California family's worst fears realized in airport murder-suicide: 'We were crying for help'

""We were crying for help," Perez said. "We tried to get him help." For years, and more urgently in recent months, Perez said their family had tried to better protect Callan, 11, and get his father, 37-year-old Giovanni Perez, the help he needed. But at every turn, the senior Perez said he felt like they hit roadblocks in complicated mental health and family court systems."

""He loved Callan," Perez said of his son. "He would just have these bouts of mental illness, and unfortunately, this time it won. ... He would have episodes of psychosis and see things, and I believe that's what happened that day. It wasn't him who did that.""

""I always feared something would happen like this," Perez said. But he said he can't simply blame his son, who had been hospitalized several times since returning from a military deployment, diagnosed with PTSD."

Frank Perez reflects on the tragedy of his son, Giovanni, who fatally shot his grandson, Callan, before taking his own life. The family sought help for Giovanni, who struggled with severe mental illness and PTSD after military service. Despite their efforts, they faced obstacles in the mental health and family court systems. Frank believes the tragedy resulted from a combination of inadequate mental health services, insufficient gun restrictions, and a lack of protections for children in unstable environments. He emphasizes that Giovanni loved Callan but was overwhelmed by his mental illness.

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