Stray Bullet Hits Pacoima Man in Neck
A 57-year-old Pacoima man sitting on his front porch was hit in the neck by a stray bullet that had apparently been fired into the air during the Fourth of July celebration, police said Sunday.
But Juan Hernandez escaped serious injury, suffering only a bump on his head and a cut on his neck, Los Angeles Police Officer John Marquez said.
Hernandez was on the porch of his Montague Street house with his family about 10:30 p.m. Saturday when he heard what sounded like fireworks, Marquez said.
As the sound continued, Hernandez told police, he wondered whether the blasts were from gunfire.
About 15 seconds later he became aware of a stinging sensation in his neck, Marquez said. He discovered a bullet hole in his baseball cap and found a 9-millimeter round lodged in his neck.
Police surmise that someone had probably been shooting a gun into the air, a felony. Hernandez, who did not seek medical treatment, reported the injury to the police on Sunday.
“If it would have been two inches over, he would be in intensive care right now,” Marquez said.
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