BRPD urging people to stop firing guns in the air to celebrate New Year’s Eve

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The Baton Rouge Police Department is urging people to be cautious and responsible ahead of New Year’s Eve this weekend.

Sgt. L’Jean McKneely says celebratory gunfire is a common, but dangerous activity around the holidays and the department is asking for people to stop before someone gets hurt.

“It’s illegal number one. Number two, it can kill somebody,” McKneely said.

McKneely says people shooting their firearms into the air has led to property damage, and multiple people getting hurt in recent years.

“We’ve had situations that have happened in Baton Rouge where people have fired their guns in the air, the bullet has come down, and killed people,” McKneely said.

Celebratory gunfire is against the law in Louisiana. If caught, violators could face up to $1,000 in fines and/or two years behind bars.

“We can trace that bullet back to your gun if it’s confiscated. We can shoot rounds and find out if that bullet came from that gun,” McKneely said.

McKneely says they get dispatched to dozens of shots fired calls around this time of the year. He hopes people will put down the guns and find a safer way to celebrate.

“Just be mindful that you can hurt somebody with that, and you can possibly go to jail for the rest of your life,” McKneely said.

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