Crime & Public Safety
West Palm Beach worship leader fatally shot while parked; suspect arrested after multi-jurisdictional tech search
A 31-year-old worship leader was shot and later died after he and a passenger were parked along Ontario Place in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County. According to West Palm Beach Police, the shooting occurred just after midnight while the two were seated in a vehicle; the driver reversed and attempted to leave after an assailant approached and fired into the car.
West Palm Beach Police described the sequence: an adult identified by investigators approached the passenger side, struck the window and drew a handgun. The passenger recognized the man and believed he was being mistaken for someone else. The driver told the man they were not the people he sought, reversed and drove north along Ontario Place as shots were fired. After seeing blood on his back, the driver and passenger called 911; the driver then took the passenger to a nearby fire station. The driver was transported to an area hospital and later died, police said.
Investigators credited ShotSpotter and license-plate reader technologies, plus interagency cooperation, with locating and arresting the suspect. Police determined the suspect fled in a black Hyundai Elantra; license-plate reader data traced the vehicle into Broward County, where the Broward Sheriff’s Office stopped the car and took the suspect into custody. The department said ballistic and DNA comparisons are being run with BrassTrax and laboratory analysis.
The West Palm Beach Police allege the suspect fired the shots and have charged him with first-degree murder with a firearm, attempted first-degree murder with a firearm, and shooting into an occupied vehicle. The suspect was transported to the Broward County Jail pending extradition to the Palm Beach County Jail, and the department continues its homicide investigation.
All individuals accused of a crime are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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All individuals mentioned in criminal allegations are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.