Sixteen-year-old Hailey Toledo was found dead in a vehicle on Gulf Bank Road in Houston in the early hours of February 11, 2025. Officers who responded around 3:15 a.m. discovered Toledo in the front passenger seat of a silver car with a fatal gunshot wound; she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Toledo was in the vehicle with three young men: her 17-year-old boyfriend who was driving, an unnamed 20-year-old man, and 18-year-old Lewis Orlando Tejada. Tejada, a high school student, was arrested and charged with tampering with physical evidence after he admitted his firearm accidentally discharged while being handled in the car and that he threw the gun from the vehicle; police later recovered the weapon about 30 feet from the scene. At a bond hearing Tejada claimed someone in another vehicle fired the shot that killed Toledo. He was released on a $15,000 bond.

Houston police say the investigation is ongoing and have not determined who fired the fatal shot. Toledo’s mother described her as loving and caring and hoping to become a model. If anyone has information about what led up to the shooting or saw the vehicle that night, please contact Houston police.