Inset: Alysha Gulley (IMPD). Background: The area in Indianapolis where police responded to a report that Gulley's daughter had been shot (Google Maps).
A 37-year-old Indiana mother is facing felony charges after police say her 7-year-old daughter shot herself inside a car while the family was driving home — an incident the mother initially claimed to be a drive-by shooting.
Alysha Gulley was taken into custody this week and charged with multiple counts of neglect of a dependent, including one count of neglect resulting in bodily injury, several months after the November 2025 incident, court records show.
The shooting happened Nov. 16, 2025, as Gulley and her children were returning home from a dollar store on the city's northwest side, according to a report from local CW affiliate WISH.
Officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded to the 1100 block of West 35th Street around 5:45 p.m., where they found the child inside a blue minivan suffering from a gunshot wound to the pelvis, local NBC affiliate WTHR reported.
The child was described as "awake and breathing" and in stable condition when first responders arrived.
Gulley initially told police she heard a "loud boom" while driving and realized her daughter had been shot, WISH reported. Believing the gunfire came from outside the vehicle, she drove away, calling 911 and telling the dispatcher she was fleeing the area and heading home.
Police who responded to the area where the shooting took place reportedly found no evidence of a shooter. At Gulley's home, officers noted there was no exterior damage to her minivan, further undermining the claim of a drive-by, according to court documents cited by WTHR.
Investigators soon determined the shooting had happened inside the car, where multiple bullet holes were located, including one where the child had been seated when she was injured.
Gulley reportedly told officers she had a firearm stored in a backpack in the vehicle. Police later recovered the bag on the rear floorboard and found a loaded 9 mm handgun inside with 15 live rounds and a spent casing in the chamber, reportedly consistent with an accidental discharge.
The backpack had been left unzipped and had no locking mechanism. Authorities said there were no other secure storage devices in the vehicle.
Multiple bullet holes were also found inside the minivan, including in the seat where the child had been sitting, police said.
When detectives interviewed the 7-year-old at the hospital, she described the shooting as an "accident," according to WRTV. The girl said she, her mother, and her sibling had been driving home when Gulley asked for her vape. Unsure who her mother was speaking to, the child said she reached into the backpack to look for the device.
The child said she felt something hard inside the backpack when suddenly "the bag went boom and shot her in the bottom through the bag," according to WISH.
The child said she did not know there was a gun inside the backpack or even in the vehicle, and added that she does not get into trouble.
Police noted the girl did not show visible signs of abuse, but investigators concluded the unsecured firearm created a dangerous situation that led to the shooting.
Gulley was booked into the Marion County Jail on a $1,000 bond. She is currently scheduled to appear in court for an initial hearing on April 17.