Police: Celebratory gunfire illegal and dangerous

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As people across Kentuckiana prepare to ring in the new year, some local police departments and civilians have concerns about one holiday tradition.

"If you are diagnosed with PTSD, it really freaks people out," said Priscilla Norment.

Norment says she was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after her grandson, 7-year old DeQuante Hobbs, was struck and killed by a stray bullet in May of 2017. Hobbs was sitting at the kitchen table of his home in the Russell Neighborhood when the tragedy happened.

"And it went through my daughter's window and struck him in his neck and we heard all of that," Norment explained.

Since then, Norment has lived in fear of gunfire and stray bullets.

"I heard it last week and I just jumped on the floor," she said.

"Obviously, it's not a safe thing to do," said Chief Barry Wilkerson, with the St. Matthews Police Department.

Wilkerson said not only is firing shots in the air illegal, it's dangerous.

"Earlier in my career, we actually made a run where a female was struck in the head with a round that actually lodged in the top of her scalp. So, it does happen and it is dangerous, said Chief Wilkerson. "What goes up, must come down. Obviously, it's not the same force, but it's still dangerous."

According to the CDC, "bullets fired into the air during celebrations fall with sufficient force to cause injury and death."

Wilkerson said it also has nothing to do with the gun control debate.

"If you want to be a gun owner, and I don't care what side you're on, whether you're for guns or against guns, the bottom line is, we need to handle them safely and it's just not a safe thing to do," he said.

Norment hopes her family's loss will help change the dangerous trend and tradition.

"You don't know where it's going to land at," she said.

Across Kentuckiana, the laws vary, however, celebratory gunfire is illegal in every city.