Arkansas Mother and Son Shot in Apparent Murder-Suicide

Nakina Gilmer-Brown

A mother and her five-year-old son were found dead on Tuesday morning in Marion, Arkansas.

Police say they responded to a call for a welfare check around 9:30 a.m. that morning. Officers arrived and were gathering information from two juveniles when they heard gunshots coming from inside the house.

Upon entering the home, three deceased gunshot victims were found, later identified as Gabriel Brown, Nakina Gilmer-Brown, and one juvenile who was later confirmed to be Gilmer-Brown's son, Austin Brown.

Investigators believe that Gilmer-Brown was shot by her husband before he turned the gun on himself.

Gilmer-Brown was the mother of four children.

"You have to be careful because you just don't know how much a person can take," neighbor Lonnie Hinton told Action 5 News. "So, you have to be careful of the way you treat each other. And He says in His word, love ye one another because you don't never know what people are going through in their personal lives."

Gilmer-Brown's uncle says he was not surprised by the tragic outcome. He says there had been indications of domestic abuse in the past.

Marion, AK

"No matter if the family member might not want you to get involved, get involved in it anyway," said Charles Gilmer to WREG. "They might dislike you at the beginning but it's possible you can save a life and that's one of the things I'm somewhat struggling with."

"She was a very private person concerning her family and maybe what was going on," he said. "She believed in marriage and no matter what might've been going on between them, she wanted her marriage. She wanted it to work. She believed that things were going to get better."

He urged victims of domestic violence to take threats against their lives seriously, alluding to possible threats by Brown to his wife in the past.

If you or somebody you know is the victim of domestic violence, you can call the Domestic Violence helpline on: 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) or you can text "START" to 88788.