A New Year’s Eve celebration turned tragic when a Florida man made one bad decision

Jan 28, 2025

New Year’s Eve is supposed to be a time for people to gather and celebrate. 

One stunt celebrating the clock striking midnight did not turn out like man expected. 

And a New Year’s Eve celebration turned tragic when a Florida man made one bad decision. 

Celebratory New Year’s Eve gunfire kills a Florida grandmother 

Some people like to ring in the new year by making a toast, popping a bottle of champagne, or with a kiss. 

One Florida man decided to celebrate the arrival of 2025 by firing off some celebratory gunshots after the ball dropped. 

Carmen Rosa Neira Ochoa, a 56-year-old, was watching the fireworks on New Year’s Eve in the backyard of her home in Kissimmee, Florida with her two daughters. 

Kissimmee Police said that Neira Ochoa was standing on her backyard patio when “all of a sudden she felt a sharp pain in her body and realized she had been shot.”

The grandmother had been hit by a stray bullet. 

Neira Ochoa, who has three children and two grandchildren, was rushed to a nearby hospital where she died from the gunshot wound. 

Alex Marquez, her son-in-law, said she was dedicated to her family. 

“She was a hard-working mother, very caring,” Marquez said. “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.”

He was stunned after he received a phone call saying his mother-in-law had been shot. 

“Not even 5, 6, 7 minutes later probably 12/midnight, I get a call from my sister-in-law saying my mother-in-law had been shot,” Marquez recalled. 

Martha Villacorta lived two houses down from Neira Ochoa but she did not hear anything. 

“But then I saw a lot of police walking around and I said ‘Oh God’ … and I mean I was kind of scared because this has never happened before,” Villacorta recalled. “People should start thinking about others because look what happened to this lady . . . you never expect anything like that to happen.”

Florida man arrested for deadly New Year’s celebration 

Carlos Manuel Tejada, 44, was arrested by Kissimmee Police for manslaughter by culpable negligence for the death of Neira Ochoa. 

Police alleged that Tejada was in his backyard firing off multiple guns to ring in the New Year when a bullet traveled more than 100 yards to strike the grandmother. 

His home was on the other side of a lake from Neira Ochoa’s property. 

A search by police found 77 shell casings in his backyard. 

Tejada’s attorneys argued that there was no evidence that linked him to firing the gun. 

He had no criminal history but the judge presiding over the case ordered him to be held in jail without bail until the trial began. 

Kissimmee Police Chief Robert Anzueto did not believe that Tejada meant to harm anyone. 

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

Celebrating with gunfire is a potential tragedy waiting to happen. 

DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this story.

 

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