Dangers of celebratory gunfire on New Year's Eve

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An umbrella can block the rain from hitting you this New Year’s Eve, but it can’t stop bullets from raining down on you. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department warns people to not celebrate 2025 by shooting guns into the air.

It is incredibly dangerous, in part, because you just don’t know where they’ll come down, IMPD said. “Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve we often hear gunshots and those are typically fired into the air,” IMPD officer Tommy Thompson said.

No matter if it’s a small caliber bullet, or a larger caliber, gravity will bring it down at a speed fast enough to get through your skull.

“We’ve had incidents where individuals in past years have been struck by bullets that have come down,” Thompson said.

Even if someone doesn’t get hit, you can cause serious damage.

In 2019, Indianapolis saw broken car windows and several homes that had holes in their roofs because people shot a gun into the air.

“What goes up must come down and we ask that you please not celebrate in a fashion that requires firing firearms into the air,” Thompson said.

If you’re caught firing a gun into the air you can be charged with a level 6 felony with the possibility of spending six months up to two and a half years years in prison.

IMPD said they’ll also be on the lookout for anyone who over indulges in alcohol and decides to get behind the wheel to drive.

“We will have an increase in patrols doing traffic and enforcement. That will include OWI and DUI enforcement,” Thompson said.