A bullet fired into the air like a firework struck a 13-year-old boy in Hammond, Indiana on Saturday night, sending the boy to the hospital, the Hammond Police Department said in a statement.
According to the Hammond Police, the boy was outside playing basketball with a group of children around 9:30 p.m. Saturday when he suddenly fell. Witnesses believed the boy was having a seizure and immediately called for an ambulance.
At the hospital, doctors found the boy was struck from a falling bullet.
The boy was transported to Comer's Children Hospital in Chicago, and was in critical condition as of Monday afternoon.
"Unfortunately, this is a common action by many people who own guns in our city and they need to know this action has consequences and will be dealt with severely by the Hammond Police Department," the department said in a statement. "If you own a firearm, it is not to be used as part of a celebration."
The boy's injury is not an uncommon one. On Jan. 1, a Texas legislator was hospitalized after being wounded by a falling bullet just after midnight. The bullet fractured Armando Martinez's skull, forcing doctor's to perform a risky procedure to remove the bullet.
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