Celebratory gunfire is uniquely dangerous and illegal in Florida

TAMPA - They call it celebratory gunfire, but in Ruskin this weekend, the random shooting of weapons into the air may have caused nothing but sorrow to the Duran Family.

12 year old Diego Duran remains in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital after being hit by an apparent stray bullet New Year's Eve.

In some parts of the world, it is traditional and acceptable to fire off high powered weapons in celebration of political victories, anniversaries and weddings.  

But a quick search of Google News just early this week, showed stories of celebratory gunfire incidents in Manatee County, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

"No responsible gun owner would ever just fire his gun up in the air" says Scott Patrick, manager of Shoot Straight Gun Range and Store.

Patrick says when a stray bullet lands, it's very difficult to trace where it come from.

"It could come from several thousand yards away. It all depends on the angle of the trajectory it was shot at.  The lower the trajectory, the faster the bullet would have been going when it did hit."

Scott Patrick also points out that the size of the bullet makes a big difference.

"A big pistol caliber like a .45 or a rifle caliber like .233 and up will cause some damage" says Patrick.       

Random firing of a gun in public is a felony in only a few states including California and Arizona.  It is a misdemeanor in Florida. Tougher laws have followed tragedies like the death of 14 year old Shannon Smith in Phoenix in 1999 who was hit by a bullet in her front yard.

Four-year-old Marquel Peters of Atlanta was hit and killed by a bullet that came through the roof of his family’s church on New Year's Eve in 2009.

Studies show that the risk of death from a bullet coming from overhead is far higher than other gunshots because they cause head injuries 80 percent of the time.