The Brown County Sheriff’s Office issued the following press release Monday morning:

According to Sheriff Vance Hill, at approximately 11 a.m. Sunday, April 7, 2024, Brown County Deputies responded to Hendrick Medical Center Brownwood in reference to a child injured from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The 3-year-old child was reported to have been traveling with his father in Brown County on County Road 234 when the child gained access to a pistol the father carried in his vehicle.

The father rushed his child to the hospital emergency department where lifesaving measures were initiated. The child was later transported by helicopter to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, where he underwent emergency surgery and is currently in ICU. This incident is currently under investigation.