PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Police are warning people about a problem they see every New Year’s Eve: People firing their guns into the air as part of the celebration.
“In our neighborhood, there was random gunfire and bullets richocheted off my mom’s car,” said Dot Roberts of Mesa. “For years we had bullet marks on our car, which is really scary.”
In 1999, 14-year-old Shannon Smith was in the backyard of her Phoenix home when she was struck and killed by a bullet that had been shot into the air.
Her death led to Shannon’s Law, which makes it a felony to discharge a firearm in any city or town in Arizona.
Glendale Police Officer Moroni Mendez believes Shannon’s Law has made a difference in reducing the number of random shooting incidents on New Year’s Eve, but it doesn’t stop everyone.
Glendale PD is one of several Arizona law enforcement agencies using technology to crack down on random gunfire.
Arizona’s Family got an inside look at Glendale’s Real Time Crime Center, which tracks what’s happening in neighborhoods across the city.
We also looked at the shot spotter system they use, which alerts officers when any gunshots are fired.
“It comes up with GPS aerial view coordinates and can actually pinpoint every single shot,” said Mendez. “For example, if we have a moving shooter it will show 1-2-3-4-5, however many shots were fired in order, and the distance they were traveling to include sometimes their speed.”
Moroni said the alert system allows officers to respond to a location in a matter of minutes.
Phoenix and other cities use similar gunshot tracking programs.
Agencies are hopeful New Year’s Eve revelers will get the message and stop firing their guns.
“I guarantee it’s made some difference,” said former law enforcement officer Andrew Slade. “You hear every year they arrest individuals and they do track it, that’s for sure.”
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