By Ed Martelle, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-811539.mp3
Dallas, TX – It is simple physics. A bullet fired into the air has to come down somewhere. Fort Worth Police Lt. Paul Henderson says it happened just last month near Texas Motor Speedway.
Henderson: Back in November, when somebody shot a 50 Caliber rifle up into the air, and approximately a mile and half to two miles away, the projectile came down, entered through a camper striking a woman in the arm and shattering her bones.
What is shocking, says Dallas Police Corporal Janice Crowther, is the number of random gun discharges that are not reported.
Crowther: Only about 20 percent of random gunfire is reported.
Last year, Dallas reported 16,000 random gunfires. People might not treat guns so cavalierly if they knew you could be fined up to $4,000 and spend up to a year in jail just for firing a gun. If your bullet hits something, the charges start piling up. And this year, more than ever before, if you fire a gun, police patrols in every city will be looking for you.