Police Issue Holiday Reminder: No Gunfire

Bullets fired in celebration, usually on New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July, have killed dozens of people in the Southland over the years.

Recently, however, a major publicity effort by city and county law enforcement agencies has helped reduce the carnage.

Santa Ana Police Sgt. Ken Ice said New Year’s gunfire incidents have dwindled in the last few years, thanks to officers distributing fliers at community meetings and bars, and informational brochures sent with water bills.

“It has slowed down significantly,” Ice said. “It’s a celebration thing, and we’ve caught some people firing in the air while they’re driving. It’s really unsafe, deadly and illegal.”

He said the city’s older mobile home parks are most at-risk because the bullets go right through the thin, metal roofs of the units.

“It’s a serious problem . . . because of the possibility of injuries to people on the ground,” said Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Colin Murphy. “What goes up must come down somewhere.”

Murphy said the Sheriff’s Department, which patrols most of south Orange County, has not had problems in the last few years.

“There’s been a lot of education and awareness,” Murphy said. “There’s sporadic events of people using handguns, but it’s not as serious as it has been in the past because of the education.”

The Los Angeles Police Department says gunfire reports on New Year’s Eve fell from 788 in 1992 to 500 last year.

Studies have shown that a bullet can travel two miles and land at 140 mph.