As the smoke of holiday fireworks settles, police departments across the country are reminding citizens that firing guns into the air to celebrate is anything but safe or legal. The City of Salisbury, North Carolina, via a post on its official government Facebook page, took to social media to deliver a crucial message courtesy of Salisbury Police Department: "What goes up, must come down. Celebratory gun fire is dangerous and illegal!"
The reminder comes as part of a broader safety campaign aimed at reducing the incidents of celebratory gunfire, which can result in random and sometimes fatal injuries when bullets eventually return to the ground. The post goes on to advise that citizens celebrate the holiday weekend safely and take precautionary measures to secure firearms with a gun safe or lock.
Education around the dangers of this act is vital, as every year brings reports of injuries and deaths from stray bullets following holidays and celebrations. Discharging a firearm into the air is not only a violation of local ordinances but also a disregard for the basic tenets of firearm safety.
