Troy Blue Dueñes was a 3-year-old boy from Elsa, Texas, who died on October 18, 2021, after investigators say he accidentally shot himself with an unsecured, loaded handgun. The shooting occurred in the family home on the 200 block of Begonia Street after Troy found a firearm in a bedroom belonging to an adult family member; an autopsy confirmed the wound was self-inflicted.

Troy’s father, Salvador Domingo Dueñes Jr., turned himself in to the Elsa Police Department on October 21, 2021, and was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He also faced misdemeanor counts alleging making a firearm accessible to a child resulting in death or serious bodily harm, assault causing bodily injury, and possession of marijuana. The father was later sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for the possession charge.

The Elsa Police Department highlighted gun safety and proper storage after the death and noted that gun safety locks are available for free through various law enforcement programs. Does anyone in the community have information about how the firearm was stored or safety measures in that household?