Police say Carter was shot during careless handling of a handgun inside an Indianapolis home.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Relatives of Rebecca June Carter are mourning the 21-year-old Indianapolis woman as her boyfriend faces a reckless homicide charge over a late-night shooting police say happened during gunplay on a couch.
Carter’s death has drawn public attention not only because of the criminal charge against 20-year-old Louis Jenkins Jr., but also because of the ordinary setting described in court documents. Police said she was inside a home with several others, including young children, when a handgun fired. Her family has described her as lively and determined while prosecutors prepare to move the case through Marion County court.
Carter, known to loved ones as Becca, was described by her godmother as fun and full of tenacious spirit. The family’s public remarks came after investigators said she was shot in the neck and head inside a home on the 500 block of Carlyle Place. The shooting happened late April 1, shortly before midnight. Medics took Carter to a hospital in critical condition, but she died from her injuries. The coroner ruled the death a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the neck. Her family’s grief now runs beside a criminal case that will examine how a loaded handgun came to be pointed toward her.
Police said Jenkins and Carter had been dating for about a year. Jenkins told detectives their relationship was great and amazing. That description sits against the court record’s account of the fatal moment. A juvenile witness told police Carter and Jenkins were together on a couch while Carter was on FaceTime. The witness said Carter had Jenkins’ gun in her hands before the shooting, was playing with it and was kissing it. The juvenile told detectives Carter said to put the gun in her mouth. According to the witness, Jenkins raised the weapon, Carter lifted her hand near it, and the gun fired.
The court filing does not present Carter’s final moments as part of a fight between the couple. Instead, investigators described a careless sequence involving at least one loaded handgun in a room where other people were present. The juvenile witness said Jenkins did not actually put the gun in Carter’s mouth and did not appear to shoot her on purpose. Jenkins, however, told police he was the one holding the Taurus G3 when it went off. He said his finger slipped and hit the trigger while the gun was pointed toward Carter. Prosecutors have charged him with reckless homicide, a count that alleges deadly recklessness rather than intentional murder.
The home was not empty when the gun fired. Court documents described multiple people inside, including the juvenile and two young children, ages 2 years and 2 months. Police were called after two 911 calls from people inside the home. One caller reported that Carter’s boyfriend had shot her friend in the mouth by accident. Officers arrived around 11:45 p.m. and found Carter wounded. The presence of children and other witnesses gave detectives several points of inquiry, but the available filings do not say whether all people inside the house had a clear view of the couch or the weapon.
Jenkins’ own words after the shooting became a major part of the public record. A witness said he cried out, “Oh my God. I’m so stupid. I had one in the head,” after the shot. Police understood that as a reference to a round in the chamber. Jenkins later told detectives he did not usually keep a bullet chambered and had been playing around when the weapon discharged. He said he removed the magazine, threw the gun, called his mother and tried to help Carter by holding her neck. During transport to the homicide office, court documents say, Jenkins said he should have shot himself instead of Carter because his life was over.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said the case showed how joking with a gun can turn fatal. “What happened here is we had a group of friends who were joking around with a gun, using it in irresponsible ways, and the consequence was someone lost their life,” Mears said. The prosecutor’s statement placed responsibility on the handling of the firearm, not on any claim that Carter’s death followed a planned act. Still, prosecutors must prove the legal elements of reckless homicide if the case goes to trial. Jenkins is presumed innocent unless convicted.
The court process is still early. Jenkins was taken into custody after the shooting investigation and charged with one count of reckless homicide. He later appeared in court and was released after posting a $40,000 bond. A pretrial conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. June 2. At that stage, attorneys may discuss evidence, deadlines and the path toward any trial or plea hearing. The court record so far does not show a final ruling on disputed facts, including the exact trigger contact, the position of Carter’s hand or what was visible to each person in the room.
For Carter’s family, the legal schedule follows a loss that arrived in minutes. Her godmother said the family wanted people to understand that life is fleeting. That message came as the public record focused on guns, statements and charges. The case now carries both parts of the story: a young woman remembered by relatives for her spirit and a defendant accused of causing her death through reckless conduct.
The next hearing is set for June 2 in Marion County. Until then, Carter’s death remains the center of a pending reckless homicide case against Jenkins, whose bond release leaves him awaiting the next court step outside jail.
Author note: Last updated May 4, 2026.