‘Celebratory gunfire’ came from man across lake to kill woman on porch, Florida cops say

A source has been found for the deadly “celebratory gunfire” that fell from the sky on New Year’s Day and killed a woman, Florida police say.

Carlos Manuel Tejada, 44, was arrested Jan. 17 and charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence, the Kissimmee Police Department said in a news release.

He is accused of killing Carmen Rosa Neira Ochoa, 56, when he fired shots into the air around 12 a.m. Jan. 1, police said.

Maps show Tejada lives on the opposite side of a small lake, directly across from the victim’s home.

“Ochoa was outside ... with her two adult daughters on her screened-in back porch, and she was watching the fireworks off in the distance,” Interim Chief of Police Robert Anzueto said at a news conference posted by WESH.

“And then all of a sudden, she felt a sharp pain in her body and realized she had been hit by celebratory gunfire.”

Ochoa was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, Anzueto said.

Tejada was arrested at his home, which is in the same neighborhood as Ochoa. He does not have a criminal history and was cooperative with investigators, officials said.

“Firing a gun in the air is absolutely unnecessary. What goes up must come down, and unfortunately an innocent life was lost that morning when a bullet came down and struck Ms. Ochoa,” Anzueto said.

Investigators say a round recovered from the victim’s home was linked to one of 11 guns recovered during the investigation.

The suspect was in his backyard when he fired a shot over the lake that separated his home from Ochoa’s home, officials said.

“Unfortunately it went over (the lake) and went into the screened-in porch of Ms. Ochoa,” Anzueto said.

Kissimmee is about a 20-mile drive south from Orlando.

This story was originally published January 20, 2025 at 12:35 PM with the headline "‘Celebratory gunfire’ came from man across lake to kill woman on porch, Florida cops say."