VIDOR, Texas — Firearms experts are warning against the dangers of celebratory gunfire ahead of the Fourth of July festivities.
Every year during the holidays, gunfire is a big concern.
"We have quite a bit of irresponsible behavior with firearm owners firing randomly into the air in their own backyards," said Firearm Specialist, Stephen "Doc" Watson.
The age-old rule of "what goes up, must come down," has Watson worried during holidays like New Years and Fourth of July.
"You can just take your average firearm a revolver or semi automatic and if you fired that from Rogers Park it could go as far as HEB grocery parking lot and kill someone," he said.
Watson says this happens in many neighborhoods, including his own.
"Three blocks from my home during another holiday a lady had a rifle bullet come through her roof," he said.
This is a problem that's highlighted every Fourth of July.
"There's dozens of shots fired during the holidays," Watson said.
Vidor Police Chief Rod Carroll says shooting a gun inside city limits is illegal and there are consequences.
"Negligence homicide charge to a deadly conduct if the gun is fired towards a residence. You have the simple thing of firing a firearm within the city limit which would be a city ordinance violation," Carroll said.
If you're caught behind the trigger, you could face a $500 fine or even worse, prison time.
"The bullet itself has different types of indentations and markings that we can mark to the firearm itself, but people will talk about who was shooting in a neighborhood," Carroll said.
"Whenever you break a law with a firearm then you're putting not only people at risk, but you're jeopardizing the right to own a firearm by everyone else that does it responsibly and legally," Watson said.
Chief Carroll says not only is celebratory gunfire dangerous to others, but also yourself.
He says even shooting a gun towards the ground could cause the bullet to ricochet and hit you or your family members.