Jason Cano-Ortega, 23, a Hispanic/Latino male from West Palm Beach, Florida, died on September 13, 2025, after a gun fired inside a moving car on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard. Investigators said the shot came from the back seat and passed through the front passenger seat before striking him in the lower back while he rode up front with friends. He was rushed from HCA Florida JFK North Hospital to St. Mary’s Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Police identified the shooter as 20-year-old Xavier Daniel Gomez, who had been handling a semiautomatic handgun in the rear passenger seat when it discharged. Witnesses told detectives the gun went off while he was manipulating it, and physical damage to the front seat matched the trajectory officers documented. Gomez later approached officers at the hospital and surrendered a. 380-caliber semiautomatic pistol recovered from his pocket.
Gomez was arrested and charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence, a second-degree felony, and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail. He has pleaded not guilty; court filings show his attorney sought a bond reduction, and he was placed on house arrest while the case proceeds. Police and arrest documents noted statements from other occupants describing the shooting as accidental.
Loved ones questioned whether the shooting was truly accidental, saying Cano-Ortega was a devoted young father and that he deserved a fuller accounting of what happened in the car that evening. Family members described him as hardworking and widely loved in the community, and they spoke of the 3-year-old daughter he leaves behind.
