Mom faked drive-by after asking the 7-year-old to grab her vape and the backpack 'went boom': Police

A 37-year-old Indiana parent is facing felony charges aft constabulary accidental her 7-year-old girl shot herself wrong a car portion the household was driving location — an incidental the parent initially claimed to beryllium a drive-by shooting.

Alysha Gulley was taken into custody this week and charged with aggregate counts of neglect of a dependent, including 1 number of neglect resulting successful bodily injury, respective months aft the November 2025 incident, tribunal records show.

The shooting happened Nov. 16, 2025, arsenic Gulley and her children were returning location from a dollar store connected the city's northwest side, according to a report from section CW affiliate WISH.

Officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded to the 1100 artifact of West 35th Street astir 5:45 p.m., wherever they recovered the kid wrong a bluish minivan suffering from a gunshot coiled to the pelvis, section NBC affiliate WTHR reported.

The kid was described arsenic "awake and breathing" and successful unchangeable information erstwhile archetypal responders arrived.

Gulley initially told constabulary she heard a "loud boom" portion driving and realized her girl had been shot, WISH reported. Believing the gunfire came from extracurricular the vehicle, she drove away, calling 911 and telling the dispatcher she was fleeing the country and heading home.

Police who responded to the country wherever the shooting took spot reportedly recovered nary grounds of a shooter. At Gulley's home, officers noted determination was nary exterior harm to her minivan, further undermining the assertion of a drive-by, according to tribunal documents cited by WTHR.

Investigators soon determined the shooting had happened wrong the car, wherever aggregate slug holes were located, including 1 wherever the kid had been seated erstwhile she was injured.

Gulley reportedly told officers she had a firearm stored successful a backpack successful the vehicle. Police aboriginal recovered the container connected the rear floorboard and recovered a loaded 9 mm handgun wrong with 15 unrecorded rounds and a spent casing successful the chamber, reportedly accordant with an accidental discharge.

The backpack had been near unzipped and had nary locking mechanism. Authorities said determination were nary different unafraid retention devices successful the vehicle.

Multiple slug holes were besides recovered wrong the minivan, including successful the spot wherever the kid had been sitting, constabulary said.

When detectives interviewed the 7-year-old astatine the hospital, she described the shooting arsenic an "accident," according to WRTV. The miss said she, her mother, and her sibling had been driving location erstwhile Gulley asked for her vape. Unsure who her parent was speaking to, the kid said she reached into the backpack to look for the device.

The kid said she felt thing hard wrong the backpack erstwhile abruptly "the container went roar and changeable her successful the bottommost done the bag," according to WISH.

The kid said she did not cognize determination was a weapon wrong the backpack oregon adjacent successful the vehicle, and added that she does not get into trouble.

Police noted the miss did not amusement disposable signs of abuse, but investigators concluded the unsecured firearm created a unsafe concern that led to the shooting.

Gulley was booked into the Marion County Jail connected a $1,000 bond. She is presently scheduled to look successful tribunal for an archetypal proceeding connected April 17.