A gathering at an apartment complex in Mishawaka turned fatal in the early hours of Tuesday, August 5, 2025. Seventeen-year-old Wesley Dancler was inside an East 12th Street apartment at Parkview Terrace Apartments when a firearm was discharged just before 2:30 a.m. Police found Dancler with a single gunshot wound; he was given life-saving measures, taken to a local hospital, and later pronounced dead.

Mishawaka investigators say witnesses reported the firearm discharge was accidental and that everyone present was known to one another. A 15-year-old boy was identified as handling the gun and, after an interview with a guardian present, was detained at the Juvenile Justice Center of St. Joseph County. He faces a preliminary Reckless Homicide charge as the investigation continues while the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office and Juvenile Probation review the matter for formal charging.

If anyone was at Parkview Terrace Apartments that night or has information about the events leading up to the shooting, please share what you know.