A man is dead after Riviera Beach police responded to a ShotSpotter alert in the 3101 block of Avenue R around 10:23 p.m. on Friday and found him suffering from a gunshot wound. He was rushed to St. Mary's Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries, according to police.
Officers were directed to the scene by the gunshot-detection system shortly before the man was found, according to WPEC. Police believe the shooting was an isolated incident and have said there is no ongoing threat to the community. Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact the Riviera Beach Police Department.
The alert came through a system covered by an ongoing city contract: in February 2026, Riviera Beach’s City Council approved an amendment with SoundThinking, the company formerly known as ShotSpotter, and authorized annual payments of $248,801. The council meeting record lists a Flex Services Agreement.
Investigation Remains Open, Victim Unidentified
As of the latest reporting, police had not released the victim's identity, and no arrests had been announced. The station notes that the investigation remains active, with detectives continuing to piece together what led to the shooting.
No details about a possible motive, suspect, or weapon have been made public, and it is not clear how many shots were fired. The lack of an identified suspect leaves the case open as investigators work to determine exactly what happened on Avenue R.
ShotSpotter evidence has also been considered in a separate Riviera Beach case. In 2023, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal upheld the admission of expert testimony about the system in a juvenile firearm case, finding the trial court did not err under the state’s Daubert standard for expert evidence. That ruling concerned evidence in that case; it does not establish what happened in Friday’s shooting.
Not the City's First Shooting Death This Year
This is not the first fatal shooting Riviera Beach has seen in recent memory. In a separate case reported by cbs12.com, a man was found shot inside his car at a shopping plaza, and a city spokesperson said that shooting was not random but was instead believed to have been a targeted attack. That victim was identified as a 23-year-old from Lake Park who died overnight from his injuries, a case police have said should not be conflated with Friday's shooting on Avenue R.
The two incidents remain distinct in how investigators have characterized them: the shopping plaza shooting as a targeted attack, and the Avenue R shooting as an isolated event with no indication of an ongoing threat. Friday's case is still unfolding, and residents with information have been asked to come forward as police work to identify the victim and determine what led to the gunfire.
Research in other cities has found a distinction between faster alerts and broader public-safety outcomes. A Northeastern University evaluation of Kansas City and Chicago found the technology helped police detect and respond to gunfire more quickly, but did not reduce gun violence or make shootings more likely to be solved. A separate study of Denver, Milwaukee and Richmond found gunshot-detection alerts were generally assigned to officers faster than 911 reports, while departments saw a twofold increase in shooting alerts and greater response workloads, the National Institute of Justice’s study found.
