Georgia
Warning: Georgia homeowner's video exposes dangers of celebratory gunfire
Dangers of celebratory gunfire
While many are looking for ways to celebrate and ring in the New Year, police are sounding the alarm on a dangerous tradition: celebratory gunfire.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. – As the countdown to the New Year begins, many are preparing to celebrate in various ways. However, a stark warning is being issued against a dangerous tradition that has become synonymous with festivities: celebratory gunfire.
The age-old adages, “What goes up, must come down,” and “bullets have no name,” are being emphasized as communities brace themselves for the unsettling sound of gunfire that tends to escalate as the clock strikes midnight.
Local resident Kevin Thomas, whose home recently experienced the jarring effects of celebratory gunfire, shared a Ring doorbell video capturing the echoes of gunshots that rattled his house. Thomas expressed deep concern and hopes that his experience serves as a warning to others before the tradition turns deadly.
“We had a couple that happened at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. It sounded like I was back in Afghanistan. I mean, it was just cycling — different caliber guns and rounds. You could hear it. It was loud,” recounted Thomas.
Adding to the potential dangers, Thomas highlighted the proximity of his home to the airport flight line. “We are on the flight line for the airport, so when the planes line up to land, they are only about 2,300 feet on top of our houses. So, any one of those rounds can hit one of the planes,” he cautioned.
Eric Wallace, the general manager of Adventure Outdoors in Cobb County, emphasized the significant risks associated with celebratory gunfire. Wallace stressed that launching fireworks is always a safer alternative and underscored the importance of responsible gun safety practices.
“It’s definitely a no-no when it comes to gun safety — firing that bullet in the air. You don’t know where that bullet is going to go, when it’s going to come down, and what it’s around. It could be a quarter of a mile away from where you shot it, or at an angle,” warned Wallace.
“A bullet can travel a mile in the air easily,” he added, urging residents to consider the potential consequences before engaging in celebratory gunfire.
Thomas echoed this sentiment, urging individuals to imagine the impact on their loved ones. “Imagine it’s a loved one, a bullet coming through the roof and hitting one of your loved ones. Put yourself in their shoes before you go out and do it,” he pleaded.
What does Georgia law say about celebratory gunfire?
Bullets fired into the air can pose a severe risk, as they often plummet back to the ground at high speeds, causing harm to individuals and property. A 2004 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlighted the heightened danger of head injuries when people are struck by gunfire shot into the air.
Georgia law strictly prohibits the discharge of firearms under specific circumstances. It is illegal to fire a gun on someone’s property without permission, within 50 feet of a public road or highway, and while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Violating any of these laws constitutes a misdemeanor offense.
Charges for celebratory gunfire include discharging a firearm on another person’s private property and reckless conduct.
Moreover, various counties and cities in Georgia have enacted ordinances addressing the firing of weapons within their jurisdictions. Those found guilty of such offenses may face additional charges and penalties.
In response to the escalating issue, some Georgia prosecutors are taking a stern stance. They have pledged to seek year-long sentences, along with fines and probation, for individuals caught engaging in celebratory gunfire. Furthermore, prosecutors are likely to petition the court to confiscate all firearms involved and may request a judge to order a psychological examination.
The move is part of a broader effort to curb the dangerous practice, protect public safety, and hold individuals accountable for their actions.
NEW ORLEANS — Marcus Freeman grabbed hold of his six kids, each making their way to a podium covered by blue and white confetti. Notre Dame’s head coach had already lifted the Sugar Bowl trophy, capping a Thursday night that took everything and everyone. So Freeman stole a moment to soak in the scene Notre Dame hired him to deliver, sharing it with his family.
They’d all just watched Notre Dame beat Georgia 23-10 to advance to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.
Inside the Caesars Superdome, Freeman became something bigger than the first-time head coach thrust into the top job three years ago after Brian Kelly’s abrupt exit for LSU, only because he had Notre Dame at his back. His program played fearless football against the kind of opponent that had made it feel inferior for so long. The Irish went for it on fourth down, and when they didn’t get it, they forced a four-and-out. When they wanted to burn clock in the fourth quarter, they made Georgia panic with a mass substitution that got the Bulldogs to jump offside.
The Irish sprung their first kickoff return touchdown of the season, buoyed by a Marshall transfer. Notre Dame created two massive turnovers, one of which was a strip sack by a Duke transfer that set up a touchdown pass to a Clemson transfer. A South Carolina transfer hit three field goals. And when the Irish needed a fourth-down stop near the goal line, a transfer from Northwestern broke the pass up.
This Notre Dame team did what no Notre Dame team has done in 31 seasons and won a major bowl game. And it did it only because its head coach manifested this scene into reality, pulling every available lever and finding every possible edge. The Irish needed them all.
“That’s the aggressiveness in terms of our preparation that I want our program to have, and again, out there when it matters the most,” Freeman said. “That’s got to be one of our edges, that we are going to be an aggressive group and not fear making mistakes.”
The end result sends Notre Dame to the Orange Bowl to face Penn State on Jan. 9, one week after this signature win that included so many autographs. It would be impossible to read off them all, starting with the head coach and going all the way down to the walk-on receiver Leo Scheidler, who helped spring Jayden Harrison’s 98-yard kickoff return to open the third quarter.
JAYDEN HARRISON
9️⃣8️⃣ YARDS#GoIrish | @j_harrison5
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) January 2, 2025
Notre Dame needed every leading actor and bit part to follow the script. And the entire football program remembered its lines.
“They’re incredible kids. They are the best of the best,” said defensive coordinator Al Golden. “I think they choose Notre Dame for all the right reasons. It’s not me, me, me. Any of those guys to come here and submit to the program and put your ego aside and go for team glory? That’s rare. Rare. Rare. Rare.”
Golden’s defense delivered without star defensive tackle Rylie Mills and cornerback Benjamin Morrison, both lost for the season to injury. And so reserve defensive tackles Gabriel Rubio and Donovan Hinish stood tall, especially after Howard Cross III left with an ankle injury. Cornerbacks Christian Gray and Leonard Moore continue to fill in for Morrison. And when All-American safety Xavier Watts missed time, Rod Heard II stepped forward.
“All of us who decided to join the team for our last year committed ourselves to this vision of being national champions,” Heard said. “We’ve leaned into Notre Dame. Whatever I have to do for this team, that’s what I’m gonna get done.”
Inside the Notre Dame locker room, RJ Oben cradled the game ball given to him by Freeman. For one night he wasn’t the other transfer from Duke, Oben was the guy who made his first sack in an Irish uniform, dropping Gunner Stockton in the final seconds of the first half and forcing a fumble recovered by Junior Tuihalamaka. One snap later, Riley Leonard hit Beaux Collins for a 13-yard touchdown, Notre Dame’s only offensive touchdown in the game.
“If you’re gonna make a game-changing play, now is the time,” Oben said. “We came here knowing this is a big stage and this is why we’re here, to perform in a season like this. All the guys.”
GO DEEPER
Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Rust Belt schools get their CFP revenge in quarterfinals
But how Notre Dame put down Georgia said less about personnel than the culture connecting it. The Irish got production from virtually every transfer against the Bulldogs, none of those players wanted by the SEC champions. And Notre Dame got much from its core too, an offensive line that’s grown throughout the season into a group that could spring a 12-play, 41-yard drive in the fourth quarter that bled 7:36 of clock and left the Bulldogs without recourse.
A punt has never looked so good.
“It’s Notre Dame football at its finest. They delivered their very best when their very best was needed,” said offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. “We probably set offensive football back 15 years. But we did what we needed to do to win.”
Notre Dame will meet Penn State in the CFP semifinals. (Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
Notre Dame did it because Freeman called the biggest game of his life, the day after a tragedy on Bourbon Street pushed the Sugar Bowl back a day.
At breakfast, Golden counseled defensive backs coach Mike Mickens that Notre Dame needed to stay aggressive in coverage, even if the Irish got beat with a deep ball. And they did get beat with Stockton’s arm. And they did stay aggressive.
Freeman knew he needed something big from special teams, no matter how much Jeter had struggled through injury this season and no matter what it took from special teams coordinator Marty Biagi. Freeman got that too. After the game, Biagi wore his father Stephen’s Notre Dame jacket, honoring him after he succumbed to lung cancer four hours after the Indiana game late last month. Just a day before Notre Dame beat the Hoosiers, Biagi’s wife gave birth to the couple’s twins. A girl and a boy. Their names are Brooke Renee and Stephen Jacob.
“He wouldn’t have wanted, as a Notre Dame grad, to go any other way,” Biagi said. “I know he was up there tonight watching. Trying to make him proud.”
Stephen Biagi would have been as Jeter drilled field goals from 44, 48 and finally 47 yards early in the fourth quarter to put Notre Dame ahead by the final score. And Harrison’s kickoff return did feel like divine intervention as he cut through Georgia’s coverage units, sprung by a walk-on receiver’s block after Scheidler subbed in for starter Collins, who needed an IV at halftime.
Even not punting worked, as Notre Dame tried that mass substitution on fourth-and-1 from its own 18-yard line early in the fourth, rushing the punt unit off and the offense on, trying to get Georgia to jump offside. Notre Dame had no intention of actually snapping the ball, until Jalon Walker jumped.
The play was called “Got ’Em.”
“And we did,” Denbrock said.
In the Superdome tunnels, Denbrock tried to make sense of this all, less the game he just called and more what it meant for the program he’d called it for. This is Denbrock’s third stint at Notre Dame under his third head coach. He’s been in these games. Never won them. No one around Notre Dame has, amid a major bowl losing streak that dates back to Lou Holtz and covers the tenure of four other head coaches. Most of these games haven’t been close. They’ve been supposed referendums on what Notre Dame football can be in the modern age.
And now Notre Dame is something else entirely.
“We’ve all endured all of these ‘we don’t belong’ and ‘you’re not supposed to be here’ and all that stuff that we’ve had to deal with all those years,” Denbrock said. “To see those kids erase that, at least for the time being, and do the things, that was all about heart and toughness.
“Regardless of the stage we’ve been on, we’ve been true to who we are. I’m just so happy for everybody.”
Because that’s exactly what this required.
Everybody.
GO DEEPER
CFP semifinals first look: Previewing Notre Dame-Penn State, Ohio State-Texas
(Top photo: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)
Georgia
Notre Dame vs. Georgia score, live updates: College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl
Three teams have booked their tickets to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Who will be the fourth?
The final game of the quarterfinals — the Sugar Bowl showdown between Georgia and Notre Dame — was postponed to Thursday after a terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans in the early hours of Jan. 1 left 15 dead and dozens injured.
Follow the game action below (scroll for live updates).
Date: Jan. 1 | Time: 8:45 p.m. ET | TV: ESPN | Line: Notre Dame -1 | Total: 45.5
No one will question how well Georgia coach Kirby Smart can motivate his team, especially in a circumstance like this with his starting quarterback injured and off to the NFL. But just how well can Georgia move the ball with Gunner Stockton in the game? We won’t be surprised to see Georgia stick to its run game.
Live19 updates
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Superdome re-opens from lockdown for Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Notre Dame
Law enforcement officers stand guard next to a Homeland Security armored vehicle outside of the Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl on Thursday. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty Images) -
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CFP players to watch, key to the Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Georgia
Click the photo above to read the story. (Jeffrey Brown/Getty Images) -
How this Notre Dame team could finally end program’s painful 31-year major bowl losing skid
Will this Notre Dame team win the big one? (Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports) -
Ohio State overwhelms Oregon to win Rose Bowl, secure a matchup vs. Texas
Click the photo above to read the story. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) -
Texas escapes Peach Bowl with thrilling double-overtime win over Arizona State
Click the photo above to read the story. (Dale Zanine-Imagn Images) -
Sugar Bowl postponed to Thursday after Bourbon Street terror attack
Members of a Louisiana SWAT team stand guard outside of the Superdome ahead of the Sugar Bowl. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty Images) -
Viewer’s guide to the new College Football Playoff
All roads lead to Atlanta in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) -
Georgia
What channel is Georgia-Notre Dame Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff game on today? Time, watch
Sugar Bowl postponed in wake of New Orleans tragedy
Athens Banner-Herald writer Marc Weiszer discusses how the Sugar Bowl will be affected after the tragic attack that took place in New Orleans.
Sports Pulse
The Sugar Bowl wraps up College Football Playoff quarterfinal action on Thursday.
The final College Football Playoff bracket quarterfinal features Georgia vs. Notre Dame on Jan. 2, after the game was postponed from the original Wednesday date.
Here’s what you need to know about how to watch, the College Football Playoff bowl game schedule and more.
When is the 2024-2025 Sugar Bowl tonight?
The Sugar Bowl is played at 4 p.m. ET Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025.
Where is the 2024-2025 Sugar Bowl today?
The Sugar Bowl will take place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
What College Football Playoff bowl teams are playing in the Sugar Bowl today?
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Georgia Bulldogs will meet in the Sugar Bowl at 4 p.m. ET Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025.
Why was Notre Dame vs Georgia Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff game postponed?
The 2024-2025 Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game was postponed after 15 people were killed and about 30 people were injured early Wednesday morning in New Orleans, according to USA Today. The deadly attack saw an armed man drive a pickup truck into a large crowd of people on Bourbon Street.
What time does the Georgia Bulldogs-Notre Dame Fighting Irish Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff game start today?
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Georgia Bulldogs will play in the Sugar Bowl at 4 p.m. ET Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025.
Watch College Football Playoff bowl games on Sling
What channel is Georgia vs Notre Dame Sugar Bowl game on tonight? How to watch College Football Playoff game today
The Sugar Bowl featuring the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Georgia Bulldogs will air on ABC and ESPN at 4 p.m. ET Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025.
Watch CFP bowl games on Fubo
How to stream, watch Notre Dame vs Georgia Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff game tonight. Where to watch today
The Sugar Bowl featuring the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Georgia Bulldogs will stream on ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. The app is available in the Apple App Store or on Google Play. Fans can also download NFL+ in the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
Watch Georgia vs. Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl on ESPN+
2024-2025 Sugar Bowl predictions: Picks for Georgia Bulldogs vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish today
The six experts at USA Today favored Notre Dame over Georgia, giving the Fighting Irish a 4-2 edge. Read more about what each expert has to say.
2024-2025 College Football Playoff bowl game schedule, results: quarterfinals
Sugar Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
Peach Bowl
Rose Bowl
When are the 2024-2025 College Football Playoff bowl game semifinals?
The College Football Playoff semifinal games will be played at the site of two bowl games on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10.
Orange Bowl
Cotton Bowl
When is the 2024-2025 College Football Playoff National Championship bowl game?
The College Football Playoff National Chamionship will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 20:
- Orange Bowl winner vs. Cotton Bowl winner: 7:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 20 (ESPN).
Chris Sims is a digital content producer at Midwest Connect Gannett. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisFSims.
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