New Years trouble

[Ron-Bon]

Once again, my neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods sounded like a war zone at approximately 12:00 am on Jan. 1st 2009. Where did this dangerous tradition originate from. I will admit that initially the guns going bang do sound cool, and in the event of a domestic invasioin, I would not be the only guy trying to defend the country. But outside of these statements, I am very uncomfortable hearing sporadic gunfire. First of all, I know for a fact that some of the people shooting ARE NOT SUPPOSSED TO BE HANDLING FIREARMS. Second of all, I am a firm believer in the fact that what goes up must come down, including bullets. I do not want anyone to get hit be a falling bullet, and every Jan 1st and July 4th we see car with bullet holes in them around here.

 

[Cyclimus]

This is an unfortunate practice that seems to predate my memory. Some people feel the need to make noise in order to celebrate. And for a lot of people, its a challenge to find anything louder than their shotgun firing at midnight, or whatever they happen to have.

This year in Columbus, Ohio a lady was actually shot in the arm as a result of a celebration like this.

Where I live (lots of hunters, CCWs, and retired military) - not a peep! I'd be willing to put even money on the fact that most of the people doing this are likely inexperienced, stupid or illegally in possession.

 

[twoclones]

I do not want anyone to get hit be a falling bullet, and every Jan 1st and July 4th we see car with bullet holes in them around here.

Sorry but I do not believe this. It might have happened once from a weapon fired at an angle a few streets away but it's not happening to multiple cars on every 1st and 4th.

 

[natecade1]

In my parents neighborhood I see cars shot up all year round. My mom still wakes up about once a week when she hears them.

AS for the holidays, we certainly do hear celebratory gun-fire but most shots heard throughout the year are not celebratory.

 

[buck460XVR]

here's another instance of a reveler's stray bullet.........Bullet found in diaper

 

[ar10]

Here's Columbus, OH
Columbus Dispatch

Columbus Police have released the names of two of the three people who were shot by officers after they refused to drop guns they were firing during New Year's Eve celebrations.

The names of the officers who were involved in those shootings also were released this morning.

Shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve, police responded to 1490 Elaine Rd., Apt. C. to reports of gunfire. They say, Fredrick L. Ravnell Jr., 27, refused to drop his weapon and was shot in the leg.

He was taken to Grant Medical Center and was released from the hosipital on Thursday.

The officer in that East Side shooting is Arkadiusz Augustyniak, who has been with the Police Division 8-years.

Ravnell has been charged with discharging a firearm in city limits and three counts of aggravated menacing, all misdemeanor charges.

About 10 minutes later, police were called to 1046 E. 16th Ave., where shots were also being fired. However, the suspect's name in that case is not being released, pending the investigation; no charges have been filed.

The man was shot in the finger; and also taken to Grant where he was treated and released, Columbus Police spokeswoman Amanda Ford said.

Brian Steel, an officer for three-years, shot the suspect, a division press release states.

Around 2 a.m., officers were on Cherry Drive in Franklinton when they heard shots being fired. Police say an officer shot Syreeta N. Harris, 27, after she refused to drop an automatic weapon she was holding.

Harris was shot in the arm and taken to Mount Carmel West, which would release no information on her condition today. James Ashenhurst, an officer for 9-years, shot Harris

.

And it gets better:
From Columbus PD reports

Witnesses stated that unknown suspect(s) shot through the front of the house and struck the victims.

The victims

Victim #1
Individual
Name Gender/Race/Age
VICTIM, JUVENILE M / B / 0

Victim #2
Individual
Name Gender/Race/Age
VICTIM, JUVENILE M / B / 0

And below is the results of the cops trying to do their job:

R/P reported that the TV station has received 7 phone calls at this time from the suspect making threats to the station. The threats are being made because the suspect is mad that the media is not covering the wrongdoing the suspect thinks she suffered from by the police department. This is related to the shooting that occurred on E 16th Ave New Years morning. Witness 1 stated that the suspect was extremely intoxicated at the scene and still holding a 40 oz beer. The Witness was approached at the scene at 10:50A while returning to the station.

In other words. You can shoot your gun at just about anything and anywhere you want on New Years. Shoot into a house, hit two kids, then have your drunk buddies call the TV stations and complain how rotten the cops are.

 

[hankdatank1362]

I didn't do any shooting in the air, but I did have a nice 30ft weighted balloon arch that I got to slice-n-dice with my Kershaw Blur. That was a hoot.

 

[Avenger]

I think it started with Chinese immigrants ringing in their new year (different date from the Christian calendar) back in the 1800s. Probably somebody thought, "Hey, they do theirs with firecrackers, and I've got this nice rifle..." and then next thing you know.....
The tradition is based on using the noise to drive away any evil spirits that have crept in over the last year, and prevent new ones from getting a toe-hold. THAT probably dates back to some ancient Chinese drunken red-neck trying to explain all the noise last night to his neighbors. "Um, I was trying to get rid of evil spirits." "Did it work?" "Sure did, no spirits in my house this morning, just lots of empty bottles!"

 

[Korbin]

2 years ago I came out of a New Year's party at a friend's house to find the back window of his car broken. There was a bullet in the car. He filed a police report but the cop told him that nothing would come of it and that it's pretty common for that to happen.

 

[Deanimator]

I'm 51 years old and I've been hearing shooting on New Year's Eve since I was child, even in Apartheid Chicago. I swear somebody in our neighborhood had a BAR that he shot on the low rate.

 

[WardenWolf]

It dates way, way back to before the American Revolution. Back then it was acceptable, as towns were smaller and less densely populated, and almost any bullet fired into the air would clear the town. Nowadays, of course, it's simply not acceptable. Cities are huge and people and property are densely packed.

 

[Starship1st]

It is irresponsible for people to just shoot in the air. I shake my head every time I see a news footage of Arabs celebrating in the Middle East by shooting their AKs in the air. I often wonder if anyone really care about what happens to all of those bullets in the air?

 

[cleardiddion]

"I think it started with Chinese immigrants ringing in their new year (different date from the Christian calendar) back in the 1800s. Probably somebody thought, "Hey, they do theirs with firecrackers, and I've got this nice rifle..." and then next thing you know.....
The tradition is based on using the noise to drive away any evil spirits that have crept in over the last year, and prevent new ones from getting a toe-hold. THAT probably dates back to some ancient Chinese drunken red-neck trying to explain all the noise last night to his neighbors. "Um, I was trying to get rid of evil spirits." "Did it work?" "Sure did, no spirits in my house this morning, just lots of empty bottles!""

Um, say what?
I'm sorry, but I don't it's really right to go on tagging this one on the Chinese. Not overly highroad in my personal opinion.

 

[WardenWolf]

It depends partly on the angle they're shot at. A bullet that is still following a ballistic trajectory is going to still retain its lethal force, but a bullet that's shot nearly straight up, runs out of energy, and starts tumbling may not still be lethal when it reaches the ground, depending on the mass and shape of the bullet.

It's never a good idea to do it, but just stating the facts.

 

[armedandsafe]

I'm sorry, but I don't it's really right to go on tagging this one on the Chinese. Not overly highroad in my personal opinion.

Depends on how much history you have read. Blaming today's practice (foolishness?) on only the Chinese is not historicly correct, but the fact that the noisemaking is traditional with the Chinese is correct.

Pops

 

[nekwah]

Shooting them in the air is fun but dangerous i suppose. why dont you just put some powder in a pipe and light the fuse. or shoot ur gun at something solid besides someones car of course. Although in Chicago or big cities im still not sure if shooting a gun at all is a good idea unless your absulutely sure that bullet isnt going anywhere. Where i live you would have to have one heck of a rifle to hit near someones house. Neares neighber close to 4miles away cattycorner. I feel sorry for you people who have to go to shooting ranges to fire your rifles. mines in my front yard.

 

[bensdad]

So, what is the terminal velocity of a chunk of lead? This is basically what a bullet is. Once it reaches the top of it's trajectory, it has to come down. It can't accelerate all the way. 9.8m/sec/sec runs out of steam against the friction of the atmosphere at some point. Is the dang thing moving fast enough to penetrate... a windshield? A skull? A hood on a car?

ETA: Never mind. I looked it up.

...In this case, the terminal velocity increases to about 320 km/h (200 mph or 90 m/s),[1] which is also the terminal velocity of the peregrine falcon diving down on its prey,[2]. And the same terminal velocity is reached for a typical 150 g bullet travelling in the downward vertical direction — when it is returning to earth having been fired upwards, or perhaps just dropped from a tower — according to a 1920 U.S. Army Ordnance study.[3]

That's about 300 fps. I guess that's enough speed to do some damage.

 

[rfwobbly]

Not working

The tradition is based on using the noise to drive away any evil spirits that have crept in over the last year...

Heard on the radio that Obama and the Clintons were still in Washington, so it must not work too well.

 

[doc2rn]

Everybody from Yugoslavia to Africa shoots to celebrate it has been going on for years

 

[makarovnik]

Probably drunken rednecks like some of my neighbors. They even shoot guns in their backyards while drinking heavily, into a wooded area backed up to a wildlife preserve with trails for hiking.

Thank God nobody has been hurt lately.

 

[Mr.1973]

here's another instance of a reveler's stray bullet.........Bullet found in diaper

What the hell, is a infant child doing outside at midnight, NEW YEARS EVE anywhere in this world?

Columbus Police have released the names of two of the three people who were shot by officers after they refused to drop guns they were firing during New Year's Eve celebrations.

The names of the officers who were involved in those shootings also were released this morning.

Shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve, police responded to 1490 Elaine Rd., Apt. C. to reports of gunfire. They say, Fredrick L. Ravnell Jr., 27, refused to drop his weapon and was shot in the leg.

He was taken to Grant Medical Center and was released from the hosipital on Thursday.

The officer in that East Side shooting is Arkadiusz Augustyniak, who has been with the Police Division 8-years.

Ravnell has been charged with discharging a firearm in city limits and three counts of aggravated menacing, all misdemeanor charges.

About 10 minutes later, police were called to 1046 E. 16th Ave., where shots were also being fired. However, the suspect's name in that case is not being released, pending the investigation; no charges have been filed.

The man was shot in the finger; and also taken to Grant where he was treated and released, Columbus Police spokeswoman Amanda Ford said.

Brian Steel, an officer for three-years, shot the suspect, a division press release states.

Around 2 a.m., officers were on Cherry Drive in Franklinton when they heard shots being fired. Police say an officer shot Syreeta N. Harris, 27, after she refused to drop an automatic weapon she was holding.

Harris was shot in the arm and taken to Mount Carmel West, which would release no information on her condition today. James Ashenhurst, an officer for 9-years, shot Harris

At least in THIS city, COPS are shooting to wound, instead of KILL!




BTW:
Rifles and pistols w/rifled barrels maintain velocity at 0 degrees horizontal angles, to 89.9 degrees vertical muzzle angles. (Velocity to penetrate objects, to include flesh)

If shot straight up vertical, a rifled firearm projectile, will fall to earth with NO velocity.

 

[BULLSI]

At least in THIS city, COPS are shooting to wound, instead of KILL!


Are you sure of that statement. How do you know that they werent shooting to kill and had some bad shots? Just asking because I have never heard of cops with pistols shooting to wound a subject maybe a sniper with a rifle.

 

[#shooter]

This is an unfortunate practice that seems to predate my memory. Some people feel the need to make noise in order to celebrate. And for a lot of people, its a challenge to find anything louder than their shotgun firing at midnight

I agree 100%. There are some places where getting a firearm and ammo is easier and legal whereas fireworks are not.

 

[Mr.1973]

At least in THIS city, COPS are shooting to wound, instead of KILL!


Are you sure of that statement. How do you know that they werent shooting to kill and had some bad shots? Just asking because I have never heard of cops with pistols shooting to wound a subject maybe a sniper with a rifle.

ALL COPS should shoot to wound/incapacitate a threat when they can.

Life is too precious....

Didn't you know?

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

ALL COPS should shoot to wound/incapacitate a threat when they can.



no