PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The July 4th holiday is filled with fun family outdoor events around the city, including firework displays. But District Attorney Larry Krasner says Philadelphia has a very sad history of people who think it's also a good time to fire their guns into the air.
“I don't care if you’ve got a permit to carry, I don't care if you're in your yard. You have no right whatsoever to break the law by firing a weapon in the air,” Krasner said. “What goes up comes down.”
Krasner added that people who do this are not only endangering those around them, but they are also endangering themselves, as the response to those actions will be what the law justifies, and the people responding have no idea what the intent is.
“One incident that comes to memory for me,” Krasner said, “was a case where police responded to the sound of multiple gunshots that were coming from what appeared to be an alley or a backyard area.”
“When they went into that area, at risk to themselves, what they saw were two people who had been firing in the air. One of them was drunk as a skunk, and when police came upon him, he turned toward the police with his gun in his hand, pointed in their direction, and they shot him to death. What else would they do? What else could they be expected to do?”
A year ago, a police officer was struck in the shoulder by a bullet while near the Philadelphia Museum of Art. That same night, in the same area, another officer suffered a graze wound to the head after a bullet went through his hat.
Philadelphia police First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford says celebratory gunfire undermines the spirit of the holiday, and the police department is committed to safety.
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“Our department will have increased staffing during the Fourth of July holiday,” Stanford said. “Officers will be deployed for large-scale events taking place across the city as well as maintaining coverage of our neighborhoods throughout the city.”
“They will be tasked with identifying and apprehending individuals engaging in celebratory gunfire. For anyone considering taking part and celebratory gunfire, please understand that you will be arrested.”
No one has been arrested in last year’s incidents with the officers on the Parkway, and there remains a $20,000 reward for information.
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