Tioga County Sheriff’s investigator Patrick Hogan called the shooting of Naomi Miklic, reckless but accidental.
The victim was shot in the back seat of a car traveling on East Campville Road in Owego.
Miklic from Cherry Valley, near Cooperstown, was shot by Justin Dibble also of Cherry Valley.
Dibble faces charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon.
There were four people in the vehicle, Miklic, 15, an unnamed juvenile, believed female, Justin Dibble, 18, and Isaiah Bowen, 28, the driver of the car.
No information has been given on why the four were in Owego or why there were five weapons in the car.
Bowen was charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
Dibble and Bowen are in the Tioga County Jail; no bail has been offered.
