Emma Brown was just 12 years old when she died by suicide. On September 20, 2022, the tween shot her father, 38-year-old Daniel Brown, and then herself in an intended murder-suicide plot. Her father survived the attack, but Emma died of a gunshot wound to the head two days later. Following her death, investigators found disturbing evidence, including a photo of the girl and her father posing with guns and ammunition. They also uncovered the teen’s plan to kill her entire family and their pets.
According to The Mirror US, the shooting occurred at the family’s home in Poolville, Texas, but it wasn’t a random attack. Emma apparently plotted the murders with another female juvenile in Lufkin, Texas. The pair planned to kill their families and then take off to Georgia together. Brown had a license to store and sell firearms at his home. At the time of the shooting, Emma’s family believed she was sleeping in her room.
According to the Parker County Sheriff’s Office, the second girl did not follow through with the plan.
One of the last pictures of 12-year-old Emma Brown and her father, 38-year-old Daniel Brown.
— Morbid Knowledge (@MorbidKnowledge) January 16, 2026
On the same day after the picture was taken, Emma shot her father in the abdomen before shooting herself in the head.
Daniel survived, but Emma died two days later in the hospital.… pic.twitter.com/ILTKAgbO86
“Sheriff’s CID members discovered during their investigation that the juvenile suspect had planned for several weeks to murder her family and pets and had been in contact with another juvenile female from Lufkin, TX, regarding the murder plot,” the sheriff’s office explained in a news release at the time. “The other juvenile female had also planned to murder her father but did not go through with the plan. The pair had then planned for the Weatherford juvenile to drive to Lufkin, pick up the second juvenile suspect and run away together to Georgia.”
The other juvenile faced charges in the case.
“Parker County Sheriff’s investigators have charged the Lufkin juvenile with criminal conspiracy in the planning of the murder plot,” the sheriff’s office added in the release. “The sheriff’s office does not identify juvenile suspects. Therefore, we are not releasing the adults’ names in order to protect their identities.”
At the time of the shooting, Lufkin Director Jessica Pebsworth made a point of encouraging parents to keep an eye on their children’s internet and social media use.
“I will say that this case is definitely a time to remind parents that it’s very important to know who your children are friends with. Whether that’s in the classroom, social media apps, Snapchat, TikTok, and then also gaming platforms,” she shared.
This is such a sad story and proof that, as much as we want to believe we know everything about our children, they may be leading secret lives behind our backs. Sadly, we might not realize that’s the case until it’s too late.
