United States

New Years' Gunfire, Stray Bullets Won't Be Celebrated by California Police

Press-Telegram (California)

24 Dec 2008

LONG BEACH -- If it goes up, it will come down, warns the Long Beach Police Department. Police on Wednesday were reminding residents that firing gunshots into the air to celebrate New Year's Eve can be dangerous and could result in jail time. While some residents fire guns into the air as a way to ring in the new year, the police department says a falling bullet can be enough to penetrate the human skull. In California, discharging a firearm into the air is a felony punishable by up to three years in state prison, said Sgt. Dina Zapalski. If a stray bullet strikes someone, the shooter could be charged with murder, she added. Zapalski... ( gunpolicy.org )