Brennen Esau was a five-year-old boy who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his Little Rock home on Wycliffe Drive on Saturday evening, September 22, 2018. He was alone in a room when he discovered his mother’s firearm and, while handling it, accidentally shot himself. Brennen’s three older siblings, ages 6, 10, and 14, heard the shot and found him critically injured; they ran to a neighbor for help. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene.

Investigators reported the gun and its magazine had been stored separately, but believe a single round may have been left in the chamber. No arrests were made immediately; police said a report would be submitted to the prosecutor’s office to determine whether charges should follow. Neighbors remembered Brennen as a friendly, outgoing child who liked playing basketball.

If anyone has information about the storage of firearms in that home or witnessed events from that evening, please share what is known.