Julian Calderon was a smart, loving 9-year-old boy who enjoyed playing Uno with his grandfather every Sunday. A third-grader at Eagle Creek Elementary School in Indianapolis, Indiana, Julian was remembered by his family as a bright child who was inseparable from his mother. He and his mother, Shatayvia, were a tight pair, often seen smiling together in family photographs.
Julian’s mother, 33-year-old Shatayvia Alisha Calderon, was a preschool teacher and a devoted caregiver to her
family. Relatives described her as a beautiful person who, from a young age, focused on her education and family. She was married by 22 and became a mother at 24. She was known for her kindness, looking after her parents and grandmother while raising Julian. Her father, Rickey Banks, moved from Chicago to Indianapolis to live with her family after he suffered a stroke. Even after he moved into his own apartment, Shatayvia checked on him often. Her mother, Linda Cunningham, recalled how her daughter once volunteered to drive neighbors to the polls on Election Day. However, her family said she also carried heavy burdens, having been hospitalized for mental health issues twice. She had recently separated from her husband of nearly ten years, was grieving the death of a close cousin, and had a hard time asking for help.
The day before the tragedy, Sunday, October 18, 2026, was like any other for Julian and his grandfather. They played Uno, and when Shatayvia came to pick her son up, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The next afternoon, their lives ended in their apartment on the northwest side of Indianapolis. At approximately 1:05 p.m. on Monday, October 19, officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded to a 911 call about a person shot at an apartment complex in the 4400 block of Village Lane, off Eagle Creek Parkway.
Inside an apartment, police discovered Julian and his mother. Both had suffered injuries from gunshots and were pronounced dead at the scene by medical officials. A firearm was also recovered from the home. The Marion County Coroner’s Office later officially identified the deceased as Julian Calderon and Shatayvia Alisha Calderon. The incident was immediately investigated as an apparent murder-suicide.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department handled the investigation. Detectives concluded that Shatayvia Calderon shot her son before turning the gun on herself. An IMPD officer, Drew Brown, described the scene as "unthinkable" and stressed the department's commitment to providing resources to those affected by the tragedy. Police confirmed they interviewed a cooperative witness, though the specific events that led to the shooting were not made public.
The news was incomprehensible to their family, who gathered to mourn and try to make sense of the loss. They shared photos and memories of both Shatayvia and Julian. Demitrious Emery, Shatayvia’s godfather, spoke about the broader implications of the tragedy. "People should know this is a normal family," he said. "Mental illness as a whole in our country is just in a crazy place and it's getting worse. This is that day where it's at our door instead of yours. But anyone would be foolish to think that it couldn't be their door." The family’s grief was complicated, mourning the unfathomable loss of a beloved child while also grieving the woman they knew as a caring mother and daughter. "Never in a million years did I think that she would do something like that," her cousin Clara Cunningham said.
As of October 2026, the case is considered closed by investigators, who determined the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide.
