Indiana Hero Teen Shot Dead by Friend

An Indiana teenager honored for saving two young lives with an act of heroism has had her life taken away by what appears to have been an act of incredible stupidity. Court papers say Aubrey Peters, 16, was shot dead Sunday night by a friend who was showing off his firearms, the Indianapolis Star reports. After she refused to hold a handgun, 20-year-old Jacob Travis McDaniel removed the magazine, pointed it at her, and pulled the trigger, apparently unaware that there was still a round in the chamber, an affidavit states.

After shooting Peters in the chest, McDaniel allegedly tried to persuade two other people present to tell police that she had been killed when the gun fell off a table. He has been charged with reckless homicide and pointing a firearm. When she was 13, Peters was honored by the Red Cross for helping save two sisters, ages 4 and 7, who had fallen through the ice on a reservoir. "She stood out—they always do when they're younger," a Red Cross spokeswoman tells CBS. "Any time there is a senseless death, it just breaks your heart." (More shooting death stories.)