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New Year’s Eve celebratory gunfire warning
Elizabeth Fry reports
TAMPA, Fla. - With New Year's Eve right around the corner, law enforcement is once again reminding residents of the dangers of celebratory gunfire.
"This new year, fireworks are the only thing that should be lighting up the sky. Celebratory gunfire is not only dangerous, it's illegal," said Sheriff Chad Chronister in a PSA released on the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Facebook.
However, year after year, gunshots still ring out as people ring in the New Year.
"Hundreds of people have been wounded, and dozens have been killed in recent years in the United States from celebratory gunfire," said Sheriff Chronister.
What goes up, must come down. Those stray bullets often hit unsuspecting targets and change their lives forever.
In 2012, just minutes into the New Year, 12-year-old Diego Duran was hit in the head by a stray bullet.
"It's been a very bumpy ride, we've had a lot of ups and downs with his surgeries and procedures," said Sandy Duran, Diego's mother, during a 2012 interview with FOX 13.
It's a story that seems to be repeated almost every year. In 2018, a man celebrating the New Year at a local St. Pete bar was hit in the groin by a bullet authorities believe was likely shot from miles away.
"If you have to tell people that if you shoot a gun up into the air the bullet has to come down somewhere. I mean if you're not smart enough to figure that out then you shouldn't own a gun to begin with," said Dan Casper, a friend of the victim hit in the 2018 mishap.
It seems like a no-brainer. However, this past year alone, multiple people in the Tampa Bay Area were victims of celebratory gunfire, including a Tampa teacher. The bullet barely missed a major artery in his neck.
"It was just like a ton of bricks from above. Bam right in my neck. Instantly thrown to the ground," said Samuel Rotker, the Tampa teacher hit by a stray bullet during Fourth of July celebrations.
In addition to pleas from law enforcement, victims, like the Durans, have made their own PSAs. They hope to remind everyone that no celebration is ever worth risking another person's life.