INDIANAPOLIS — As much as we all want to have fun on New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day, police say your holiday should not include celebratory gunfire.
An Indianapolis family joins that call, urging people to be responsible gun owners after their home was hit by a stray bullet about a year ago.
“Something told her to look up and she saw the bullet hole in the ceiling,” Jerome Barnett said.
The Barnett’s say they were lying in bed one year ago when they heard the sound of gunshots.
Inside that hole? The Barnett's say was a bullet.
They claim it was from people shooting their guns in celebration of the new year.
“You are shooting into the air, but you are not thinking about where the bullet ends up at. You’re not thinking like that at all,” Barnett added.
IMPD says the department traditionally responds to several calls for service involving shots fired on New Year's Eve and into New Year’s Day. Officers say a bullet fired into the air can ascend a mile or more in the air.
“If you’re going to fire a weapon into the air that’s criminal recklessness and what goes up must come down,” IMPD Officer Tommy Thompson.
IMPD says if you are arrested for firing a weapon, you could face a charge of Criminal Recklessness - a level 6 felony punishable by six months up to two and a half years in jail, and a potential fine of up to $10,000.
