Celebratory gunfire (also called aerial firing or happy fire) is the shooting of a firearm into the air in celebration. It is culturally accepted in parts of the Balkans, the Middle East, the Central Asian country of Afghanistan, and the South Asian country of Pakistan. In regions such as Puerto Rico and the contiguous United States any practice of it is illegal, especially on holidays like New Year's Eve.[1]
Common occasions for celebratory gunfire include New Year's Day as well as religious holidays such as Eid.[2]
The practice may result in random death and injury from stray bullets. Property damage is sometimes another result of celebratory gunfire; shattered windows and damaged roofs are often found after such celebrations.[3]
In Puerto Rico, about two people die and about 25 more are injured each year from celebratory gunfire on New Year's Eve, the CDC says.[5] Between the years 1985 and 1992, doctors at the King/Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, treated some 118 people for random falling-bullet injuries. Thirty-eight of them died.[6]
Airlines Fokker 100 (4O-AOK) was shot at while landing at Podgorica Airport. A routine inspection of the aircraft led to the discovery of a bullet hole in the aircraft's tail. The aircraft was carrying 20 passengers, but no one was injured. The reason for the incident is unknown; however, reports indicate that it may have been an inadvertent result of guns being fired during celebrations for Orthodox Christmas.
January 1, 2005: A stray bullet hit a young girl during New Year celebrations in the central square of downtown Skopje, Macedonia. She died two days later. This incident led to the 2006 IANSA awareness campaign in that country.[2]
October 12, 2003: Wedding guests in Belgrade, Serbia mistakenly shot down a small aircraft.[14]
Middle East
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April 6, 2014: A 20-year-old pregnant mother of two, Wadia Baidawi, was struck in the head and killed by a stray bullet from her neighbor’s wedding in Sidon, Lebanon.[15]
November 21, 2012: Following a cease-fire ending fighting with Israel, celebratory gunfire in the Gaza Strip killed a man and wounded three others.[16]
October 30, 2012: Twenty-three people were electrocuted after celebratory gunfire brought down a power cable during a wedding party in eastern Saudi Arabia.[17]
August 2012: A Kuwaiti bridegroom was killed when a friend of his accidentally shot him as he charged his gun to fire into the air in celebration.[18]
August 2010: 2 people were killed and 13 were injured in Jordan, as part of the yearly celebration of the announcement of the result of Tawjihi.[19]
July 29, 2007: At least four people were killed and 17 others wounded by celebratory gunfire in the capital city of Baghdad, Iraq, following the victory of the national football team in the AFC Asian Cup.[20][21] Celebratory gunfire occurred despite warnings issued by Iraqi security forces and the country's leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who forbade the gunfire with a religious fatwā.[22]
July 22, 2003: More than 20 people were killed in Iraq from celebratory gunfire following the deaths of Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay in 2003.[13]
South America
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December 25, 2012: A stray bullet killed a three-year-old girl in Asunción, Paraguay.[23]
South Asia
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November 16, 2016: A self-proclaimed godwoman and her private guards went on a celebratory shooting spree at a wedding in Haryana's Karnal town in India, killing the groom's aunt and leaving three of his relatives critically wounded.[24]
June 6, 2013: a 42-year-old Pakistani woman was killed by a stray bullet from celebratory gunfire. The gunfire was attributed to celebrations for the election of Pakistan's prime minister Newaz Sharif. Her 19-year-old niece was also hit, and rushed to hospital in critical condition.[25]
February 25, 2007: Five people were killed by stray bullets fired at a kite festival in Lahore, Pakistan, including a six-year-old schoolboy who was struck in the head near his home in the city's Mazang area.[26]
December 1859: An autopsy showed that a native servant in India, who suddenly fell dead for no apparent reason, was mortally wounded from a bullet fired from a distance too far for the shot to be heard. The falling bullet had sufficient energy to pass through the victim's shoulder, a rib, a lung, his heart and his diaphragm.[27]
United States
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July 1, 2017: A 13-year-old boy, Noah Inman, was struck in his head and killed while playing basketball in the street.[28]
January 1, 2017: Armando Martinez, a Texas state Representative, was wounded in the head by a stray bullet during a New Year's celebration.[29]
January 1, 2015: A 43-year-old man, Javier Suarez Rivera, was struck in his head and killed while watching fireworks with his family in Houston.[30][31]
July 4, 2013: A 7-year-old boy, Brendon Mackey, was struck in the top of his head and killed while walking with his father shortly before 9 p.m. amid a large crowd prior to the fireworks display over the Swift Creek Reservoir, outside Richmond, Virginia.[32]
January 1, 2013: A 10-year-old girl, Aaliyah Boyer, collapsed after being struck in the back of the head while watching the neighborhood fireworks in Eklton, Maryland. She died two days later of her injuries.[33]
July 4, 2012: A 34-year-old woman, Michelle Packard, was struck in the head and killed while watching the fireworks with her family. The police believe the shot could have come from a mile away.[34]
January 1, 2010: A four-year-old boy, Marquel Peters, was struck by a bullet and killed inside his church The Church of God of Prophecy in Decatur, GA. It is presumed the bullet may have penetrated the roof of the church around 12:20AM.[35]
In March 2008, Chef Paul Prudhomme was grazed by a .22-caliber stray bullet while catering the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. He at first thought a bee had stung his arm, required no serious medical attention, and within five minutes was back to cooking for the golf tournament. It was thought to have been a falling bullet.
December 28, 2005: A 23-year-old U.S. Army private on leave after basic training fired a 9mm pistol into the air in celebration with friends, according to police, one of the bullets came through a fifth-floor apartment window in the New York City borough of Queens, striking a 28-year-old mother of two in the eye. Her husband found her lifeless body moments later. The shooter had been drinking the night before and turned himself in to police the next morning when he heard the news. He was charged with second-degree manslaughter and weapons-related crimes,[36][37] and was later found guilty and sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison.[38]
June 14, 1999: Arizona, A 14-year-old girl, Shannon Smith, was struck on the top of her head by a bullet and killed while in the backyard of her home.[39] This incident resulted in Arizona enacting "Shannon's Law" in 2000, that made the discharge of a firearm into the air illegal.
December 31, 1994: Amy Silberman, a tourist from Boston, was killed by a falling bullet from celebratory firing while walking on the Riverwalk in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The Police Department there has been striving to educate the public on the danger since then, frequently making arrests for firing into the air.[40]
July 4, 1950: Bernard Doyle was killed in his seat while attending a New York Giants game at the Polo Grounds. The bullet was determined to have been fired by Robert Peebles, a juvenile, from an apartment building some distance away on Coogan's Bluff, presumably in celebration of Independence Day.[41][42][43]
Pametno, pametno...
) , odma svi skocili kao da na svadbi inace piju dvojni c i plesu uz valcer 
