The West Palm Beach Police Department is currently leading an investigation into a shooting incident that left one person dead. The event took place inside a vehicle last Saturday. Authorities were alerted after a gunshot victim was brought to a local hospital with a wound in the back, prompting the investigation, according to details released by WPBF.
Detectives have pieced together that the shooting transpired in a car and have identified 20-year-old Xavier D. Gomez of Lake Worth, who was sitting in the rear passenger seat as the individual who mishandled the firearm resulting in it discharging, and he struck the front passenger; the front passenger was initially stabilized, was then transported to a regional trauma center, but later succumbed to the injuries according to details from a city's news release.
Gomez is now facing charges of manslaughter by culpable negligence as defined under Florida Statute 782.01(1), a serious charge that suggests a reckless disregard for safety, while handling the firearm that ultimately took the life of the victim, in this tragic occurrence.
As the case continues to develop, the West Palm Beach Police Department has not disclosed additional information surrounding the circumstances of the incident or the identity of the victim; however, they have stated that Gomez's charge stems from the allegation of his negligence culminating in the fatal outcome the specific case number tied to the investigation is 20250014232.
