A violent chain of events that began on the night of February 27, 2025, tragically cut short the life of 12-year-old Giuliani Calderon. A student at Walden Middle School, Giuliani was a male of Hispanic ethnicity. The devastating incident unfolded at his home in a residential area of unincorporated Platte County, just outside of Riverside, Missouri.
He was fatally shot, and his mother, Mercedes Ontiveros, sustained serious gunshot wounds in the same brutal attack.
The tragic night began when 43-year-old George Manning initiated a violent crime spree. His first victim was 33-year-old Katherine Bjorklund, whom he shot and killed at a car wash in Riverside in what appeared to be a random act to steal her vehicle. After murdering Bjorklund, Manning drove the stolen car to the home he had once shared with Ontiveros. There, he forced his way inside and opened fire, striking both Ontiveros and her son, Giuliani. After the shooting, Manning abducted his and Ontiveros's 5-year-old daughter, fleeing the scene and prompting authorities to issue an Amber Alert.
The manhunt for Manning extended into the early hours of the next morning. After committing additional felonies in Kansas City, Kansas, he eventually released his daughter to a relative, and she was found safe and unharmed. The search for Manning concluded when he was spotted by police walking near Vivion Road and Waukomis Drive. During the ensuing confrontation with law enforcement, George Manning was shot and killed by officers, bringing the violent rampage to a close. The Platte County Sheriff's Office led the investigation into the homicides and abduction. The family had previously been impacted by gun violence, as Giuliani's father, Alfredo Calderon, was killed in a mass shooting in 2019.
