Court documents say the couple was sitting on a couch when a handgun fired inside an east-side home.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — A 20-year-old Indianapolis man has been charged with reckless homicide after police said he fatally shot his girlfriend while handling a gun on a couch late April 1 inside an east-side home.

Louis Jenkins Jr. is accused in the death of 21-year-old Rebecca June Carter, who was found shot in the 500 block of Carlyle Place after two emergency calls from inside the home. The case now centers on what happened in the seconds before a Taurus handgun fired, how many people saw it and whether Jenkins’ handling of the weapon met Indiana’s standard for reckless homicide.

Police said officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were sent to the home around 11:45 p.m. after callers reported a shooting. One caller told dispatchers that Carter’s boyfriend had shot her friend in the mouth by accident, according to court documents described by local stations. Officers arrived and found Carter suffering from gunshot wounds to her neck and head. She was taken to a hospital in critical condition, where she later died. The Marion County coroner ruled the death a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the neck. Investigators said other people were inside the home, including a juvenile and two young children, ages 2 years and 2 months.

The shooting began, according to a juvenile witness, with Carter and Jenkins seated together on a couch while a gun was being handled during a FaceTime call. The juvenile told detectives that Carter had Jenkins’ gun in her hands minutes before the shot, was playing with it and was kissing it. The witness said Carter told Jenkins to put the gun in her mouth. Police said the witness reported that Jenkins raised the gun, Carter lifted her hand toward it, and either grabbed the weapon or hit the trigger as it fired. The witness also told police that Jenkins did not put the gun in Carter’s mouth and said he did not think Jenkins shot her on purpose.

Jenkins gave detectives a separate account that still placed the handgun in his hand when it discharged. He said the juvenile had been pointing an empty Glock 19 at him and talking about no one being able to bother him at car meets. Jenkins told police he pulled a Taurus G3 handgun from a cubby on the side of the couch to show he was also armed. He said he held the Taurus in his right hand to the side of his body while it was pointed toward Carter. According to the affidavit, Jenkins told detectives his finger slipped, hit the trigger and the gun went off while the barrel was pointed at her.

Witnesses and police accounts describe a brief burst of panic after the shot. A witness heard Jenkins say, “Oh my God. I’m so stupid. I had one in the head,” a reference investigators understood to mean there was a round in the chamber. Jenkins told police he does not normally keep a bullet chambered and said he had been playing around when the weapon fired. He also said he removed the magazine, threw the gun, called his mother and tried to help Carter by holding her neck. While he was being taken to the homicide office, court documents say Jenkins made another statement that he should have shot himself instead of Carter because his life was over.

The criminal charge does not accuse Jenkins of intentionally killing Carter. Prosecutors filed one count of reckless homicide, a charge tied to conduct that creates a plain risk of death. Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said the case showed the danger of treating a firearm as part of a joke. “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 court record leaves some questions unresolved, including the exact position of Carter’s hand, the direction of the muzzle and who touched the trigger in the final instant before the gun fired.

Carter’s relatives described her as someone whose energy filled a room. Her godmother said Carter, known to loved ones as Becca, was fun and had a tenacious spirit. Family members said her death left them trying to understand how a gathering inside a home became a homicide case before midnight. The scene on Carlyle Place was not described by police as a fight or a home invasion. Instead, the records point to a crowded room, a couch, a video call and a loaded handgun that several people said was being treated casually moments before Carter was shot.

Jenkins was arrested and booked into the Marion County jail after the shooting investigation moved to a criminal filing. Court records show he later appeared before a judge and was released after posting a $40,000 bond. His next scheduled court date is a pretrial conference at 2 p.m. June 2. Prosecutors will be expected to rely on the affidavit, witness statements, the coroner’s finding and Jenkins’ own comments as the case moves forward. Defense filings available so far do not show a full response to the allegations.

Currently, the case remains pending in Marion County, with Jenkins charged but not convicted. The next public milestone is the June 2 pretrial conference, where attorneys may address scheduling, evidence and any early motions before the case moves closer to trial.

Author note: Last updated May 4, 2026.