News traveled fast Sunday after a young woman was found dead in an abandoned SUV off Fosters Ferry Road in Tuscaloosa.

Traffic heading to and from the many churches clustered in this area of west Tuscaloosa slowed to maneuver around the police cars and news crews parked along the street for hours. Police had blocked off a portion of the heavily traveled road near Washington Estates and Herman Avenue as they looked for evidence around a white Jeep, parked haphazardly in the overgrown grass of a vacant lot where people have been known to dump trash.

Elexis McCool, 18, was dead in the back of her mother's vehicle, killed by a shot fired through the back of the driver's seat. It took officers a few hours to figure out who she was because the teenage brothers who left her there had taken her identification and phone.

Once people called in with tips that allowed police to identify McCool and begin the process of contacting her family, her friends took to social media to express shock and dismay that such a young, bright woman had lost her life to violence. It was equally shocking to many when police revealed they had two young brothers, just 14- and 15 years old, in custody Sunday night.

Investigators with the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit found the boys at a Tuscaloosa residence Sunday afternoon after receiving a tip from a caller, said unit assistant commander Capt. Kip Hart. Both of the teens spoke with police, he said, describing the shooting as accidental.

McCool had been with the 15-year-old earlier in the day, her sister Jasmine Shepherd said Monday. The sisters had talked on FaceTime, and Shepherd had seen the boy in the vehicle with McCool.

"She said 'This is my best friend,' but I had never seen him before in my life," said Shepherd, 28.

Investigators said McCool and the boy picked his younger brother up from the movie theater on Skyland Boulevard after 11 p.m. Saturday and were riding around the neighborhoods off Skyland and McFarland boulevards. The younger boy told investigators he was firing a gun out of the back window while McCool was driving.

"He said he was firing up into the air, and at some point brought the gun back into the car when it discharged," Hart said at a Monday morning press conference. "The round went through the car seat and struck her. She was able to stop the vehicle. They all got out, and observed that she was wounded and in obvious distress. They put her in the back seat, and for some reason they drove to the west Tuscaloosa where the vehicle was located."

Once there, the boys realized she had died, he said. They locked her door, took her phone, disposed of the car keys and walked away, he said.

"They couldn't give a logical reason as to why they would drive to that part of town and just leave her," Hart said. "As far as leaving her in the vehicle, their explanation didn't make a lot of sense. Most of us think you would take an injured person to the hospital if it was an accident."

After hours of interviews, the 14-year-old was charged with murder. The 15-year-old was charged with theft of the vehicle and abuse of a corpse for abandoning a body. He was also charged with obstructing governmental operations. Both were held in the Tuscaloosa Juvenile Detention Center and may face further charges after a hearing that could take place by Wednesday. The juvenile court referee and Tuscaloosa County District Attorney's Office could choose to charge them as adults.

"I just want to know why couldn't they just take her to the hospital?" Shepherd said.

Shepherd said she spoke to her younger sister every day. McCool was very close with all of her family members, she said, especially her mother and Shepherd's young children. Shepherd had planned to surprise her with a trip to the beach for her 19th birthday on Aug. 2.

"Elexis was joyful. I'll remember her smile, that's all you saw. Every time she saw you, she was very excited to see you," she said. "I'm still in shock. I still can't believe it."

She said she hopes her sister's death with prompt people to make greater efforts to keep guns out of the hands of young people.

"I hope it wakes up a lot of people," she said. "Especially my community, that side of town's where I'm from. I hope that woke up a lot of people."

Hart said the gun belonged to one of the boys. He said law enforcement officers have been dealing with younger victims and younger suspects, especially during the summer months.

"I don't know if their parents knew they had a firearm or not," he said. "I would like to think they didn't. I think it's just the prevalence of weapons on the street. The ability to get their hands on them easily and a lack of parental control. They really shouldn't be out that late at night. Parents need to be responsible for having their juvenile children accounted for during those late hours."

Reach Stephanie Taylor at stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0210.