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‘Bubbly’ Teen Girl Killed While Driving After Backseat Passenger Allegedly Fires 'AR-15 Style' Rifle In Car
Annalysa McMillan had just recently celebrated her 19th birthday when she was fatally shot, allegedly by Austin Mark Smith.
An Indiana teenager was shot and killed while driving, just days before Thanksgiving, after a backseat passenger allegedly fired an assault rifle he'd been holding.
Annalysa McMillan, 19, of Gas City was driving three passengers — including Austin Mark Smith, 22 — around the town of Marion Tuesday when she was "struck by a single gunshot to the area of her back,” according to the Marion Police Department.
Smith was allegedly holding a .223 caliber "AR-15 style rifle" as he sat in the driver side-rear passenger seat when it discharged. Police say that one round was fired.
"The projectile entered and exited the driver's seat and struck Annalysa in her back,” police state. The shooting caused McMillian to collide with another vehicle, causing a minor crash.
McMillian was taken to a nearby hospital where she died. Her death has been ruled a homicide. The other passengers in the car, two teens, were not injured during the shooting.
It’s unclear if investigators think the shooting was intentional or not but Smith has been charged with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon and reckless homicide, according to online jail records. He’s being held on a bond of a little more than $1,000. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer at this time.
McMillan’s death came just five days after her birthday.
Mark Atkinson, McMillan’s pastor told local outlet WXIN that the slain teen “an encouraging, bubbly young lady who had a bright future and was heading in the right direction.” She had just graduated high school back in June, ABC News reports.
