A 21-year-old man facing a murder charge in his girlfriend’s death first told police she had shot herself while playing with his gun. He then told police he shot her, but unintentionally.

Seneca Carey (North Las Vegas Police Department)

Indya Willis poses before her senior year homecoming dance at Legacy High School in North Las Vegas. The teenager was shot and killed last week. (Kimberly Harris)

A 21-year-old man facing a murder charge in his girlfriend’s death first told police she had shot herself while playing with his gun. He then told police he shot her, but unintentionally.

Detectives didn’t believe either account.

North Las Vegas police arrested Seneca Carey on a murder charge in the Wednesday fatal shooting of his 17-year-old girlfriend, Indya Willis. An arrest report released Monday indicates Carey initially told police she shot herself inside his car while parked in front of her house in the 1100 block of Gary Carmena Avenue, near East Centennial Parkway and Losee Road. He told detectives she was waving his gun around in the passenger seat and shot herself.

The detectives didn’t buy that explanation, based on her position in the car and the location of her gunshot wound, Carey’s arrest report said.

“I attempted to recreate shooting myself in that manner and found that it was very difficult and highly unlikely that the victim shot herself the way Carey said,” a detective wrote in his report.

After they cuffed Carey and told him he was under arrest, he told police he had unintentionally shot her. He explained that she was sitting in the passenger seat while he sat in the driver’s seat with a gun in his right hand. Carey told police his girlfriend slapped his hand and the gun went off, the report said.

Police tried to replicate the circumstances of the second account. Again, detectives were skeptical.

“I found that it was highly improbable that the shooting happened that way,” the detective wrote. “In conjunction with the fact that he did not seek immediate medical attention for the victim I believe that he is lying to hide the fact that he intentionally shot the victim.”

Carey didn’t call 911 right away; he told detectives he was scared and didn’t know what to do, the report said. Carey called an unidentified person and drove around looking for a hospital for about 30 minutes before dialing 911, the report said. Carey drove her to MountainView Hospital early Wednesday, and police were requested about 2:45 a.m.

Carey is being held at the Las Vegas Detention Center.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.