A Bastrop County man’s start to the new year was marred by an errant bullet, a souvenir from someone's celebratory gunfire. The unnamed victim was hit after midnight on New Year's Day while outside his Cedar Creek home, suffering a wound to the upper back near the neck, officials said.
According to the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office, the sheriffs responded to one call at 12:14 a.m. from the Riddle Road area, where they found the man hit by the errant bullet that had fallen back to earth. "This is an unfortunate but great example of why a firearm should never be fired indiscriminately into the air since the bullet must come down and cannot be predicted, making the person firing the gun subject to criminal prosecution," said the sheriff's office, as stated by FOX 7 Austin.
Nearly 50 calls were made to the sheriff’s office about celebratory gunfire that night, which wasn't out of the ordinary for a New Year's Eve, according to authorities. However, this particular incident had a different and unfortunate outcome. The man was promptly taken to a hospital for his injury and was later released, as per KVUE.
Finding the shooter may prove to be a challenge, as there was no shooting in the immediate vicinity. "Investigators determined the bullet dropped out of the sky and was clearly from celebratory gunfire," as reported by KVUE.
