Tragedy struck in northern Kansas City when a 10-year-old boy was discovered lifeless in a pond near his residence, after reportedly sleepwalking from his home during the night.

Jackson Georgari was last captured on video around midnight on Thursday, as seen in footage from a doorbell camera at the apartment complex where he lived, according to a statement from the Kansas City Police Department.

A missing person alert was issued by authorities later that morning. The search for the young boy quickly intensified, involving multiple police departments, the Kansas City Fire Department, and concerned neighborhood volunteers.

After an exhaustive search spanning several hours, which employed the use of drones and K-9 units, officers made the heartbreaking discovery of Georgari’s body in a pond situated approximately a mile south of his home around noon on Thursday, 12 hours after he was last observed.

Despite the best efforts of fire and rescue teams to revive him, the boy could not be saved and was sadly pronounced dead at the scene, Kansas City police confirmed.

Police added that ‘there were no immediate signs of foul play,’ though the boy’s death is under investigation. 

The medical examiner is working to determine Georgari’s cause and manner of death.

While the search was still underway, the little boy’s family told KMBC that he had sleepwalked in the past. 

Semina Richard, Georgari’s older sister, told the outlet that the first time he had sleepwalked was when the family was living in San Diego, before they recently moved to Kansas City. 

‘Someone found him on the street and they called 911. They brought him over and he was found safely,’ Semina said of that incident. 

The second time was after the family had moved to Missouri. ‘He ran away again, and he went all the way up there where his school is at because that’s the only place he recognizes,’ she said. 

The little boy’s death has rattled the local community. 

‘It hurts in your community when you have a kid that goes out in the middle of the night and whatever the circumstances were that led to him ending up in there,’ Kansas City Police Department Captain Jake Becchina told KCTV.

‘You feel for the family involved in this. It’s unimaginable. I can’t even imagine. They went to bed last night, and everything was normal. And now today they have to deal with this,’ the police captain added. 

Neighbors who had participated in the search effort recounted their experience and expressed their heartbreak for the family.

‘I had an appointment this morning, right after the police had left. And I thought, well, maybe I’ll be lucky and find him. But he may have already been passed by that [point],’ Heather Meikenhous said. 

‘It’s just so sad. My heart goes out for his parents. And please, please get peace. I wish you the best,’ she added. 

Estela Yslas, a resident who has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years, told KCTV it was the first time she had seen anything like this happen in the area. 

‘I would like to tell them that I prayed for them, and I’m so sorry for their loss. But I prayed that they will find them. But not like that,’ Yslas said in a message to Georgari’s family.

The Briarcliff Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization confirmed that the boy was a student at the school in a statement shared on social media. 

‘We extend our deepest condolences to the student’s family, friends, classmates, teachers, and everyone whose lives were touched by him,’ the statement said.

‘Please continue to hold this family and our entire Briarcliff community close in your hearts,’ the parent teacher organization added. 

Georgari would have started fifth grade when school resumes in the fall.  

Authorities in Florida apprehended a man who allegedly brought a blazing propane tank into a Tampa dining establishment and brandished two knives while deputies attempted to arrest him.

The drama unfolded at approximately 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday, when deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office were called to a restaurant in Tampa following reports of an ongoing assault or battery, as stated by the sheriff’s office.

Upon arriving at the scene, deputies discovered the interior of the restaurant engulfed in smoke and flames, with a propane tank ignited outside, officials reported. They observed Rubiel Maceo Castillo, 53, inside, holding twin knives. Deputies repeatedly ordered him to discard the weapons and exit the premises.

In a tense moment captured on bodycam footage, a deputy can be heard shouting, “Drop the knife now. Do it now.”

Working alongside Hillsborough County Fire Rescue crews, deputies extinguished the fire before taking Castillo into custody. He was booked into jail and is being held without bond.

Castillo allegedly grabbed two knives and charged at several people inside the restaurant before cutting a woman on the wrist when she tried to intervene, according to court documents obtained by WFLA-TV. Investigators alleged he then cut a gas line connected to a grill, grabbed a propane tank and ignited the fire.

Surveillance video released by the sheriff’s office appears to show a man carrying a flaming propane tank through the restaurant as flames spread inside the business. Body camera footage also captured deputies confronting the suspect before placing him under arrest and helping extinguish the blaze.

Castillo has been charged with first-degree arson of an occupied structure, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal mischief causing more than $1,000 in damage and other offenses, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

While authorities have not publicly identified a motive, WFLA reported that investigators believe the incident stemmed from a domestic dispute involving Castillo and his wife.

The Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, led by top official Mamdani, was planning a meeting with Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN.

On Tuesday morning, Commissioner Ana María Archila was slated to sit down with Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s representative at the UN, at 2 United Nations Plaza. Joining her were two senior colleagues from the mayor’s office. These details were uncovered through calendar invitation screenshots seen by City Journal, confirmed by insiders connected to international affairs and those within Archila’s team.

An official from the State Department also verified knowledge of the anticipated meeting under the Mamdani administration.

The scheduled discussion between Archila and Iravani was ultimately canceled. This decision came after the State Department, having not been notified earlier, engaged the Mamdani administration to discuss proper protocol, as noted by the State Department contact.

City Journal reveals that Commissioner Archila reportedly proceeded without alerting the mayor about the meeting. This oversight led to her reprimand and subsequent instruction to cancel the appointment, according to a source familiar with her office operations.

The meeting between Archila and Iravani was called off after the State Department — which was not informed ahead of time — met with the Mamdani administration to clarify acceptable conduct, according to the State Department official.

City Journal learned that Commissioner Archila allegedly did not inform the mayor of the meeting. She was reprimanded for the move and directed to cancel the meeting, according to the source familiar with the office.

On April 16, a message seen by City Journal was sent to staff within the mayor’s Office for International Affairs asking them to prioritize diplomatic engagement in part based on whether foreign officials “are . . . in political alignment/leftist.”

The message confirms previous reporting by El País, noting that Archila has “focused . . . on deepening relations with foreign leaders who share Mamdani’s worldview.”

New York City officials did not originally envision the mayor’s Office for International Affairs as a means of shaping foreign policy.

Its purpose is to exchange best practices with other global cities, bring foreign businesses to New York and support city government’s relationship with the entire diplomatic community residing in New York City — without regard to political ideology or party.

That makes Archila, who has no prior diplomatic experience, an unusual choice for the role.

Mamdani appointed her as commissioner after she had an exhaustive career in activism.

She served as co-director of the progressive Working Families Party, whose official position is that the war in Iran “can and must be stopped.”

The Mamdani administration has been notably vocal on foreign policy.

The mayor himself has spoken out about US and Israeli strikes against Iran, describing them as a “catastrophic escalation in an illegal act of war of aggression.”

He has also been frequently and explicitly critical of the state of Israel, an opposition he says is based on dislike for any state that “privileges one religion over another” — a description that also covers the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The administration’s international ambitions have not been limited to public comments.

Last month, Mamdani intended to meet with leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro — but the meeting was called off after the State Department declined to issue a visa following Petro’s attendance at a rally hosted by Mamdani in September.

Judgment issue

Achila’s international meetings have included a two-day trip to Barcelona in April to participate in a conference hosted by the Party of European Socialists.

That Achila’s meeting with Iranian officials was even contemplated raises questions about her judgment — and about the administration’s priorities.

Her office’s loosely defined mission is to promote a more “equitable and inclusive society” and strengthen New York City’s position as a global leader.

It’s more than a stretch to suggest that a meeting with representatives of a country with whom the United States is engaged in hostilities — and with whom it has no diplomatic relations — would help achieve those ends.

Adam Lehodey is an investigative reporter at City Journal. Reprinted with permission.