On a cold January evening in Little Rock, Arkansas, the life of 35-year-old Varn Brown Jr. was tragically cut short, marking the city's first homicide of 2020. On the night of January 5th, at approximately 9:19 p.m., the sound of six to ten gunshots echoed through the Capitol Hill Boulevard area, prompting multiple calls to the police. A friend of Brown's also placed a distressed call to dispatch, reporting that his friend had been shot at the Capitol Hill Apartments.
When officers from
the Northwest Patrol Division arrived at the apartment complex, they found Varn Brown Jr. on the ground in a lower-level breezeway of one of the buildings, suffering from gunshot wounds. Emergency responders from the Little Rock Fire Department and MEMS attempted life-saving measures, but his injuries proved to be fatal, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
In the immediate aftermath, homicide detectives spent hours at the scene, gathering evidence and speaking with residents in an effort to piece together the events of that night. They impounded two vehicles from the location for further investigation. A longtime friend of Brown described him as an upbeat, smart, and funny individual who could make friends with anyone. She expressed her shock and disbelief, stating that she couldn't imagine why anyone would want to harm him.
In the months that followed, the Little Rock Police Department announced a reward of up to $10,000 for any information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of a suspect in the case. Despite the public appeal for information and the ongoing investigation, there have been no public announcements regarding any arrests made or suspects identified in the shooting death of Varn Brown Jr. The case remains an unsolved homicide, leaving a family and community searching for answers.
