Phoenix police are reminding New Year’s revelers to stay away from their guns.
In 1999, 14-year-old Shannon Smith was in her yard when a falling bullet hit and killed her. That led to a state law, known as Shannon’s Law, that makes it a felony to fire a gun within or into city limits. And as the New Year rolls around, police are stepping up public outreach to emphasize the danger of celebratory gunfire.
Phoenix police Sgt. Vince Lewis says from 2014 to 2015, the number of calls reporting gunfire the half hour before and after midnight has dropped about 18 percent.
“The decrease is a good sign and we hope that it has to do with our education. People are accepting the reality that random celebratory gunfire is not good," Lewis said.
In 2015, Phoenix police responded to a total of 19,000 calls of shots fired, of which New Year’s Eve only makes up a very small fraction.