HOUSTON — The City of Houston is increasing police patrol for the Fourth of July holiday to respond to people who are celebrating by shooting guns into the air.
Commonly dubbed celebratory gunfire, Houston police say it’s properly called deadly conduct and it carries a hefty penalty if caught, including up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
In all of last year, there were nine arrests for celebratory gunfire and 392 calls for services. In fact, In November 2022, a man was shot in the head by possible celebratory gunfire.
“It’s like you’re in a war zone throughout the City of Houston,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said about celebratory gunfire. “It is illegal, it is illegal, it is illegal.”
“What goes up must come down, and if you think that there’s no hazard in firing into the air you’re just absolutely dead wrong,” Houston Police Department Assistant Chief Thomas Hardin said.
Mayor Turner has approved additional overtime resources for HPD to help address the random gunfire.
“We’ll pay for it in order to crack down on what has become a serious problem,” he said.
The city will also have its shot spotter technology in place.
“This tool is important to helping police respond quickly, to locate victims, to locate offenders, to locate evidence that’s left behind,” Tom Chittum, SVP, SoundThinking said.
HPD said it will have marked and unmarked units across the city to respond to illegal activities.