“People have to understand that bullet is traveling at a pretty fast speed, and when coming down it can seriously injure someone, if not kill them.” In addition, as 2009 merges into 2010 there will be a full moon and, although unmentioned by Reynolds, there is a longstanding belief La Luna can adversely affect people’s emotions and actions.
“If we can keep it down early with a show of presence,” Reynolds said he expects incidents of firing into the air will be kept to a minimum, if not eliminated. In past years the SPPD has “had a couple of incidents where a bullet fired in the air” was found the next morning by mobile home residents who reported the find to police. Other incidents have involved vehicles struck by a bullet and some cases of shattered windshields.
Aside from the local ordinance, in California discharging a firearm into the air is a felony punishable by three years in state prison. If the stray bullet kills someone, the shooter can also be charged with murder.
And the possibility of killing someone by firing into the air is mind-boggling: According to national studies, the mortality rate among those struck by falling bullets is about 32 percent, compared with the up to about 6 percent mortality rate normally associated with gunshot wounds. The higher mortality rate for those struck by a bullet is the result of the high incidence of head wounds from falling bullets, even when found to be fired from more than a mile away.
“Not only is firing into the air against the law,” said Reynolds, “but it’s reckless.... There is absolutely no way to know where a bullet fired in the air will fall.”
