Bullets fired into the air

July 18, 2012 11:18 AM

In a video of Syrian street celebrations over the recent assassination, a gentleman is firing a machine gun into the air. Are bullets fired into the air a danger to others? It seems obvious it would be, but I don't know the physics involved, or likelihood of a bullet hitting a person.
posted by stbalbach to Law & Government (16 answers total)

Best answer: Mythbusters looked into this. Episode summary one and two.
posted by Perplexity at 11:20 AM on July 18, 2012 [2 favorites]

They're a huge danger. They'll penetrate a roof.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 11:22 AM on July 18, 2012

Best answer: There's actually a Wikipedia page about it, including deaths.
posted by 2bucksplus at 11:24 AM on July 18, 2012

Yes, it is dangerous, and a really stupid thing to do. A falling bullet could kill or seriously wound anyone it struck. The physics is not difficult.
posted by Decani at 11:25 AM on July 18, 2012

Best answer: Yes, it can be fatally dangerous.
posted by Zed at 11:25 AM on July 18, 2012

A few years ago someone got shot downtown here, several blocks away from where someone fired a bullet into the air.
posted by MonsieurBon at 11:26 AM on July 18, 2012

Yes. A girl in Ohio was killed by a bullet accidentally fired into the air in December 2011.
posted by valkyryn at 11:28 AM on July 18, 2012

Quick answer: yes, because humans stink at aiming exactly perfectly straight up. For the math/physics, look at the Wikipedia article on projectile trajectory.
posted by SMPA at 11:32 AM on July 18, 2012

It's a tradition on LA's East Side, apparently -- the LAPD has a program for prevention and I've heard they use acoustic systems to identify locations where gunfire originates.
posted by Rash at 11:35 AM on July 18, 2012

World War 2. My dad got nicked by a random piece of shrapnel well behind the lines, miles from any fighting. It was a minor wound, little more than a cut. The medic who treated him referred to it as a fortuitous injury.
posted by philip-random at 11:46 AM on July 18, 2012

A New Year's Eve tradition in LA, I should say. In the Middle East, it seems to be a tradition among certain groups, when celebrating any victory.
posted by Rash at 11:48 AM on July 18, 2012

When I was in Baghdad (as a civilian), one of my co-workers got hit in the shoulder by a bullet that we figure someone fired in celebration of one damn thing or another. It didn't penetrate the skin, but it did raise a pretty considerable bruise. He was, of course, a week away from returning to the U.S., and spent the remainder of that week wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet. Even while in his room. Even while sleeping. On the first floor of a two-story building. That had no windows.

And I heard the following half of a conversation with his wife:
"Hey, I got hit by a bullet today."
...
"No, really. It was just, like, fired in the air or something."
...
"Yes I fucking DID."
...
"FINE. Yeah, I'll send you a photo. FINE."
posted by Etrigan at 12:03 PM on July 18, 2012 [4 favorites]

Anecdote to follow: on 2009 New Year's, my partner and I had just pulled into his driveway and turned off the car when I heard a loud noise which made me ask if the car's engine just exploded. Silly me, it was just a stray bullet from some people shooting off their guns in the air a couple blocks away that fell and penetrated the hood of the car mere inches from the windshield. I henceforth warn people of the danger of bullets on New Year's Eve. Who knew.

When I brought this up with people the following day, they were in disbelief of the laws of physics and didn't seem to think shooting guns in the air was remotely dangerous!
posted by loquat at 12:09 PM on July 18, 2012

Slate's "Explainer" covered this a little over a year ago.
posted by theuninvitedguest at 1:21 PM on July 18, 2012

Turkish football fans like to shoot pistols into the air after a soccer match, and yes, it is dangerous. Besiktas Stadium is just down a steep, long hill from swank Taxim Square, and my friends living there would hit their bedroom floor after every match as bullets would ricochet across the rooftops.
posted by zaelic at 2:53 PM on July 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

A few weeks ago in Tampa Bay, a fan was sitting in the (domed!) Tropicana Field and got hit with a bullet.
posted by SpiffyRob at 6:44 AM on July 19, 2012