In the early morning hours of July 26, 2020, Juan Carlos Ortega, 24, was fatally shot in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx. The shooting occurred about 5:42 a.m. near Grote Street and Prospect Avenue, where a crowd had gathered and police had been called for an assault in progress. An officer reportedly saw a man pull out a firearm and shoot Ortega in the head. A second victim, a 20-year-old male, was shot in the groin and taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in stable condition; Ortega was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Police pursued and arrested a suspect at the scene identified as 39-year-old Joam Casado of the Bronx. Casado was arraigned on charges that included murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon and was held without bail. Ortega’s family described him as a passionate auto mechanic from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and said they did not know why he was in the Bronx that morning or of any connection to the alleged shooter. Anyone who knew Juan Carlos Ortega or has information about what happened that morning is asked to come forward.