A teenage girl in Indiana has lost her life in a senseless tragedy. Adalina Perez was hanging out with friends when she was killed. Details about her death are still under investigation, but it seems that someone may have been playing with a gun that accidentally went off. The girl didn’t stand a chance; she was dead at the scene. Arrests have been made in connection to the shooting, but thus far, no formal charges have been made against those in custody. Now, her mother is speaking out, revealing the pain of losing her teenage daughter in a way that could have been avoided.
Two people have been arrested in connection with the shooting.
Officers from the Shelbyville Police Department were called to a home around 8 p.m. on April 20, 2026, WRTV reported. Inside the home, officers found Perez, 17, police said. She had a gunshot wound and was declared dead at the scene.
Jayden McQueary, 18, has been taken into custody and booked into Shelby County Jail. He is facing a reckless homicide charge, but it is unclear if the charge has been filed.
A juvenile has also been taken into custody. The juvenile, who has not been identified, was brought to a juvenile detention center.
Details are still emerging about what led to the shooting.
Neighbors told WISH-TV a large event was happening at the home when the gunshot rang out. Many of them believed it was fireworks at first, but then people began running from the home and crying.
“I hope to not see nothing like that again. From what I’ve seen last night to when they brought her out of the house, I’ve never seen anything like that,” a man who didn’t want to be named told the outlet. “I definitely hope I never see anything like that again. I’ve got grandkids that age. Definitely heartbreaking.”
The teen’s mom spoke out.
Perez’s mom, Tiffany Frodge, spoke with Fox 59, saying she was getting ready for bed April 20 when her phone rang. She had to be up early the next morning, so she ignored the call, but she couldn’t ignore the text she got: “Emergency.”
That’s how Frodge found out that her teenage daughter was dead. “You go from seeing her laughing and smiling to picturing a bullet going through her head and it’s a feeling you don’t know until you’re going through it,” the mom said.
Losing a child so senselessly was heartbreaking.
According to Frodge, her daughter’s friends told her McQueary was waving a gun around and pulled the trigger. He reportedly thought the safety was on, but it wasn’t. The kids said the gun went off and hit her daughter, killing her.
“Regardless if he felt like it was an accident or not, it’s irrelevant now,” Frodge said, per Fox 59. Now, the mom is left mourning the loss of a life that was just about to really begin. According to Frodge, Perez wanted to become a nurse and specialize in the brain to better understand mental health.
“She wanted to live her life, she wanted to be something, she wanted to be something important,” Frodge told the outlet. “She was something very important; she was very special.”
Apparently, Perez told it like it is.
Her mom said her daughter was incredibly honest, even if people didn’t want to hear it. The teen was also the mom of her friend group and reportedly wanted a big family one day.
“She loved kids. She thrived with kids,” Frodge said. “I think that medically, that’s where she would end up being.”
A GoFundMe account has been created to help with funeral costs. It’s about halfway to its modest goal thus far.
Frodge had a very strong message for young people when it comes to guns.
“Anybody that carries a gun, and I am one, you know that it doesn’t come out of the holster unless it’s to protect yourself and your family, so why are you playing around with guns?” she wondered to Fox 59. “A gun isn’t meant to be played with. Now my daughter’s gone because you thought it was a toy.”
