INDIANAPOLIS — Despite multiple warnings from police about firing a gun to celebrate the new year, police in Indianapolis say they received dozens of calls late December 31 and early January 1 for "shots fired".
Fireworks or gun shots? It's hard to tell when things start "popping" outside your home after dark, but many residents assume those pops and bangs are coming from guns and they call 911 with their concerns.
According to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, dispatchers in the country received 250 calls for "shots fired" between 9 p.m. December 31, 2019 and 9 a.m. January 1, 2020.
Dozens of calls made to IMPD detail reports of bullet holes and multiple shots being fired from nearby homes. Broken windows were reported on Ritter Avenue, homes were struck on North Webster Avenue and Lakefield Drive and a stray bullet falling from the sky struck the windshield of a vehicle on MacArthuer Lane.
According to IMPD, a bullet fired into the air can ascend a mile or more in the air. Smaller caliber ammunition can fall at a rate of 300 feet per second and larger caliber ammunition can fall at a rate of 500 feet per second. A rate of 150 to 170 feet per second can penetrate the human skin, while a velocity of 200 feet per second is sufficient to penetrate the human skull.
Anyone arrested for illegally firing a weapon can face a felony charge of criminal recklessness, which is punishable by up two and a half years in jail and a $10,000 fine.
