Cops and loud music draws gunfire at campground

bigred1cav wrote:
So it will accelerate to a maximum speed of not 3,000 kilometres per hour, but somewhere between 330 and 770 kilometres per hour - depending upon the weight and shape of the bullet.

Not sure where this data comes from, but it is wrong. A bullet that is traveling in a low enough arc can maintain those velocities, but not one that is in an actual free fall.

Bullets Fired Up

Listen to Karl talk about Bullets Fired Up
(You will need Real Audio which you can download for free)

Michael asked this question, "Can people be hurt by bullets that have been fired straight up in the air, which then fall straight down again?"

The first thing to realise is that what goes up, usually comes down. The bullet will come down, but it will come down more slowly. A bullet is fired at a typical muzzle velocity of around 2,700 ft. per second, or around 3,000 kilometres per hour. Once the gases stop pushing it, it begins to slow down due to two forces - the resistance of the air that it's pushing through, and the downward suck of gravity.

Typically, a bullet will take around 30 seconds to climb to a height of around three kilometres, at which point it has a velocity of zero. Then it falls. As the bullet falls, it's subject to two forces - the suck of gravity trying to pull it faster, and the wind resistance slowing it down. The suck of gravity is not as powerful as the explosive gases that push it out of the barrel. So it will accelerate to a maximum speed of not 3,000 kilometres per hour, but somewhere between 330 and 770 kilometres per hour - depending upon the weight and shape of the bullet.

Now a speed between 330 and 770 kph is not as much as 3,000 kilometres per hour, but it's more than enough to penetrate any human skull. You need a velocity of only around 220 kilometres per hour to do that.

Most people who have been hit by bullets falling out of the sky get hit on their upper back, the top of their head, or their shoulders.

In Kuwait after the end of the Gulf War, the Kuwaitis celebrated by firing weapons into the air - and 20 Kuwaitis died from falling bullets. In Los Angeles, between the years 1985 - 1992, doctors at the King/Drew Medical Center treated some 118 people for random falling-bullet injuries. 38 of them died. Practically all of the injuries were due to happy holiday weekend revellers.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/homework/s95523.htm

skipro3 wrote:

frankdamp wrote:
When a gun is fired "into the air", the projectile climbs to several thousand feet to where gravity overcomes momentum. At that point, said projectile starts back towards earth, gathering speed as it does so.

By the time it reaches the ground it's going about 75% of the speed at which it left the gun's muzzle. Who knows what it will hit? Certainly the dumb-butt who fired "harmlessly" into the air didn't understand the dynamics involved, but he'd be responsible for whatever mayhem the bullet caused.

That is SO not true!
A bullet fired at many times the speed of sound, say 1000m/s will not break the sound barrier, 300m/s after reaching it's terminal speed falling back to earth.

It is rather obvious that the bullet will land at a lower velocity - simple conservation of energy, and second law of thermodynamics.

Mythbusters even did a show on this and proved a typical bullet falls back to earth at about 100mph. In order to prove this, they dropped a bullet into a vertical wind tunnel. The wind had to be at 100mph in order to suspend the bullet in the air. Hence, a bullet will fall at 100mph. Now, will a bullet falling at 100mph (150feet per second) kill or even harm anyone? Mythbusters shot a bullet at 100mph, 150fps, measured with a chronograph, into a pig's head. (From a butcher's not a live pig) The bullet didn't even break the skin.

CPD: Celebratory Gunfire Is Dangerous & Illegal
Posted: Dec 30, 2011 11:57 AM EST
By Donna Willis
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Columbus Division of Police would like to remind its citizens to welcome in the New Year in a safe and responsible manner.

Celebrating the New Year with celebratory gunfire is potentially deadly and against the law.

People are put in harm's way when guns are fired aimlessly into the sky.

In 2009, a 6-year-old boy was killed in Miami, Fla., when he was hit by a stray bullet shortly after midnight.

In 2008, Columbus officers were involved in three, separate police-involved shootings due to revelers ringing in the New Year by shooting guns into the air.

Individuals who are observed firing weapons into the air will be charged and taken to jail.

Those caught could face anywhere from 60 days in jail to more serious charges if injury or death occur.

Remember, what goes up must come down, and the velocity of a bullet fired into the air, still has enough speed to enter a human body and do considerable damage, even death.

CPD encourages you to enjoy the holiday, think before you act and celebrate safely.

For additional information, stay with NBC4 and refresh nbc4i.com.

Like I said, if fired into an arc it can retain enough velocity to cause damage, but not to those around you. In the OP story, no one in the CG was in danger from a falling bullet. Now, if they didn't actually fire "into the air"...

It couldn’t be, it never happens… it’s just not possible…

click

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United States

July 4, 2013: A 7-year old boy, Brendon Mackey, was struck in the top of his head and killed while walking with his father shortly before 9 p.m. amid a large crowd prior to the fireworks display over the Swift Creek Reservoir. [21]

July 4, 2012: A 34-year woman, Michelle Packard, was struck in the head and killed while watching the fireworks with her family. The police believe the shot could have come from a mile away.[22]

January 1, 2010: A four-year-old boy, Marquel Peters, was struck by a bullet and killed inside his church The Church of God of Prophecy in Decatur, GA. It is presumed the bullet may have penetrated the roof of the church around 12:20AM.[23]

December 28, 2005: A 23-year-old U.S. Army private on leave after basic training fired a 9mm pistol into the air in celebration with friends, according to police, and one of the bullets came through a fifth-floor apartment window in the New York City borough of Queens, striking a 28-year-old mother of two in the eye. Her husband found her lifeless body moments later. The shooter had been drinking the night before and turned himself in to police the next morning when he heard the news. He was charged with second-degree manslaughter and weapons-related crimes,[24][25] and was later found guilty and sentenced to four to 12 years in prison.[26]

June 14, 1999: Arizona, A fourteen year-old girl, Shannon Smith, was struck on the top of her head by a bullet and killed while in the backyard of her home. [27] This incident resulted in Arizona enacting "Shannon's Law" in 2000, that made the discharge of a firearm into the air illegal[28]

December 31, 1994: Amy Silberman, a tourist from Boston, was killed by a falling bullet from celebratory firing while walking on the Riverwalk in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The Police Department there has been striving to educate the public on the danger since then, frequently making arrests for firing into the air.[29][dead link]

Follow up to this story....now the local police Dept, Chino, CA, officers are being investigated for not "booking" the two shooters before turning them over to their supervisors.

pasusan wrote:
Here's a new busted myth for you then. At a New Year's Eve celebration in our town a few years ago a man did just that - fired a gun into the air. The bullet came down onto and into a little girl's head - she died.

Well, either that did not happen, or that is the story the boyfriend told. First, it is almost impossible to fire straight up. The bullet is always at a slight angle (Mythbusters couldn't get a bullet to fall straight back down). A bullet can be fired into the air and have enough velocity when it returns to cause damage, if it has a low enough arc when it is fired. How low that is I'm not sure, but everyone you can see is safe. Terminal velocity of any bullet just isn't that fast.

Booze, quiet hours and guns covered in the same thread - priceless! Did he have those Chinese tires too? Did the one guy step in the other guys dog's poop? Were they burning their trash in the fire ring? Come on - I need more!!!! :P

skipro3 wrote:

frankdamp wrote:
When a gun is fired "into the air", the projectile climbs to several thousand feet to where gravity overcomes momentum. At that point, said projectile starts back towards earth, gathering speed as it does so.

By the time it reaches the ground it's going about 75% of the speed at which it left the gun's muzzle. Who knows what it will hit? Certainly the dumb-butt who fired "harmlessly" into the air didn't understand the dynamics involved, but he'd be responsible for whatever mayhem the bullet caused.

That is SO not true!
A bullet fired at many times the speed of sound, say 1000m/s will not break the sound barrier, 300m/s after reaching it's terminal speed falling back to earth.

It is rather obvious that the bullet will land at a lower velocity - simple conservation of energy, and second law of thermodynamics.

Mythbusters even did a show on this and proved a typical bullet falls back to earth at about 100mph. In order to prove this, they dropped a bullet into a vertical wind tunnel. The wind had to be at 100mph in order to suspend the bullet in the air. Hence, a bullet will fall at 100mph. Now, will a bullet falling at 100mph (150feet per second) kill or even harm anyone? Mythbusters shot a bullet at 100mph, 150fps, measured with a chronograph, into a pig's head. (From a butcher's not a live pig) The bullet didn't even break the skin.

:h

Here's a new busted myth for you then. At a New Year's Eve celebration in our town a few years ago a man did just that - fired a gun into the air. The bullet came down onto and into a little girl's head - she died.

Habemus Quattro wrote:

gbopp wrote:
I'm guessing their title will soon be 'former' deputies..

I doubt it. They'll be suspended with pay for a time during the "investigation," then back on the job.

Noo, they are probably done, they'll be charged and canned. The court deputy especially.... He hasn't rotated to the field yet, and now has displayed judgement issues... the bus cop will probably get canned as well,

Dumb asses.