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2 local examples show why celebratory gunfire is dangerous and illegal

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As fireworks fill up the sky on July 4th, police advise leaving guns out of the celebration. Celebratory gunfire in Florida is illegal and dangerous.

News4JAX spoke with a man in January after bullets came flying into his family’s home on New Year’s Eve.

“I could have been hit by the bullet if it hadn’t been two more feet to the right,” said Clinton Washington Jr.

A stray bullet could have come too close to his one-year-old son.

“The bullet traveled through my son’s bassinet. And if my son was in his playpen he most definitely could have been hit,” he said.

Also on New Year’s Eve, a mother of three told News4JAX a bullet came crashing through the roof of their southside home because of celebratory gunfire.

According to the CDC, bullets fired into the air return to the ground at speeds greater than 200 feet per second, with enough force to penetrate the human skull and cause death.

Celebratory gunfire can lead to charges including reckless discharge or discharging a firearm in public or into a residential property. Negligent manslaughter is even a possibility if someone is hit or killed.


About the Author
Corley Peel headshot

Corley Peel is a Texas native and Texas Tech graduate who covered big stories in Joplin, Missouri, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Jacksonville, Florida before returning to the Lone Star State. When not reporting, Corley enjoys hot yoga, Tech Football, and finding the best tacos in town.

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