On the Fourth of July, hundreds of thousands of people will celebrate with fireworks and grilling.
But hundreds of bullets will also be fired into the air, and eventually, they will land somewhere.
Most people cannot tell the difference between a gunshot and a firework. Both go off every year, but only one is deadly on the way down.
"They are firing rounds up in the air for whatever silly reason that may be," said Chip Holland, a former sheriff's deputy, SWAT team leader, and firearms instructor. He hears about the victims of those holiday bullets in the classes he teaches at Range USA.
"Every New Year's Eve, the class we have after, people come up saying, 'I found a bullet in my car'," Holland said. "One lady had a bullet come through her roof and land on the couch beside her."
Bullets can travel more than a mile, so there is no telling where it will land.
Holland said if you really want to fire your firearm, go to a firing range, or just stick to fireworks.
There is always an increase in shots fired calls on the Fourth of July.
While it is hard to differentiate the difference, be cautious before calling police, and potentially patient if no one is confirmed injured.
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