PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal and other city leaders issued a plea to citizens for New Year’s Eve — to celebrate the holiday safely, without gunfire.
Bilal stood alongside Pennsylvania state Sen. Sharif Street and clergy members on Friday with a clear message.
“We want you to have a good time ringing in 2023,” she said, “but what we don’t want you to do is go outside your house recklessly and shoot your gun up in the air.”
Bilal’s office has offered free gun locks for Philadelphians. She explained it’s a matter of both simple physics and basic safety.
“What goes up must come down. Those bullets can hurt somebody in your family,” she warned.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bullets, when fired into the air, can return to the ground at speeds greater than 200 feet per second. That amount of force is enough to penetrate the human skull and cause serious injury or death.
“We have hundreds of people living in small areas,” said Street, “yet you’re firing weapons. Most likely, the person you end up killing will be yourself or someone you’re celebrating with.”
One recent incident of celebratory gunfire was at this year’s Fourth of July concert on the Ben Franklin Parkway. Two police officers suffered graze wounds from bullets fired into the air nearby.
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