Shannon’s Law, named for 14-year-old Shannon Smith who was killed by a stray bullet, makes it a felony to shoot a gun in the air. Despite the stiff penalty, celebratory gunfire is still a problem. But the number of incidents over New Year’s Eve was down.
According to the Phoenix Police Department, the number of shots-fired calls were down 22 percent from last year. The department looked at the 30 minutes before and after midnight, and in that time 206 shots-fired calls were made. Last year, 265 calls were made in that same time period. So far, there have been no arrests. Although the numbers on New Year’s Eve were down, the overall picture is different. Last year, police made 149 arrests versus 120 in 2013.
