Win or lose, here's why it's a bad idea for Pacers fans to fire guns into the air
The Indiana Pacers are playing in a winner-take-all NBA Finals Game 7 right now.
Win or lose, it will be an emotional night for Hoosiers. Despite that, it's still a bad idea to shoot your guns into the air to celebrate a big win or mourn a tough loss.
Police give out the same warning every year leading up to the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve — refrain from firing bullets into the sky.
"What goes up, must come down. We say it time and time again," Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Officer Drew Brown told IndyStar last year, leading up to New Year's Eve 2024.
More coverage: Indiana Pacers fans gather to cheer team into NBA Finals Game 7 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
According to the department, a bullet fired into the air can ascend a mile or more. Smaller caliber ammunition can fall at a rate of 300 feet per second, and larger caliber ammunition can fall at a rate of 500 feet per second. Bullets falling at these speeds can penetrate human skin and even the human skull.
If arrested for firing a weapon, you could face a criminal recklessness charge, which is a level 6 felony punishable by six months up to two and a half years in jail, and a potential fine of up to $10,000.
Falling bullets have struck people's homes in Indianapolis in the past. An Indianapolis grandfather was watching a New Year's Eve special, inside northeast side home, shortly before 2020 ended when a bullet ripped through his ceiling.
From last year: 'What goes up, must come down.' Police warn against New Year's celebratory gunfire
'It's scary that it could have come through and hurt someone,' the man told IndyStar in a 2021 article.
The department urges anybody who sees someone actively firing a weapon to call 911.
The Pacers, playing for their first NBA Championship, face the host Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals Game 7 in Oklahoma City. The game tipped off a few minutes after 8 p.m.
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