A Florida man was arrested nearly three weeks after a grandmother was fatally struck by a falling stray bullet he shot in the air in apparent celebratory gunfire to welcome in 2025, according to authorities.
Carlos Manuel Tejada, 44, was charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence on Friday in the death of 56-year-old Carmen Rosa Neira Ochoa on Jan. 1.
Ochoa was with her two adult daughters watching New Year’s fireworks on her backyard patio in the city of Kissimmee when “all of a sudden she felt a sharp pain in her body and realized she had been shot,” police said.
Ochoa, who reportedly had three children and two grandchildren, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital despite life-saving measures taken by her daughters and first responders at the scene, said Kissimmee Police Chief Robert Anzueto during a press conference on Friday.
Tejada, who does not have a criminal history, is accused of firing off a gunshot in his backyard across a lake from where Ochoa was taking in fireworks on her screened-in porch.
Investigators matched the round recovered from the victim with a gun taken from the suspect’s home, Anzueto said. Eleven firearms were recovered from the scene, he added.
“The dangers of firing a gun in the air is absolutely unnecessary,” Anzueto said during the news conference streamed by Fox 35.
“What comes up, must come down and unfortunately an innocent life was lost that morning when a bullet came down and struck Ms. Ochoa.”
“His stupid actions caused the death of one of our citizens,” the chief said, stressing he does not believe Tejada meant to kill anyone.
Ochoa’s family remembered their loved ones as a dedicated mother.
“She was a hard-working mother, very caring,” son-in-law Alex Marquez told WESH earlier this month.
“She went out of her way to help out anybody that was in need. She was all about her family. She would do anything to protect her family, even me.”
