Celebrating with gunfire isn’t just dangerous; it’s illegal in Arizona

PHOENIX – If you want to make some noise to ring in the new year, stick to fireworks, not firearms.

Shooting a gun into the air isn’t just dangerous, it’s illegal in Arizona under Shannon’s Law.

The law, which was enacted in 2000, makes it a felony to randomly fire a gun within or into the limits of any municipality in the state.

Violators can face up to five years in prison.

The legislation was named after Shannon Smith, a 14-year-old girl who was killed by a stray bullet in Phoenix in June 1999.

If you think you can there’s no way police can track down the origin of a shot, think again.

The city of Glendale uses technology called ShotSpotter to enforce its zero-tolerance policy on gunfire.

Glendale police monitor the system, which pinpoints the source of a shot, 24 hours a day year-round and send officers to check out each activation.

In Phoenix last year, police received 240 calls of shots fired between 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and 2 a.m. on New Year’s Day. That was a reduction from 362 such calls the previous year.

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