West Palm Beach Police Chief Frank Adderley asked the community to stop firing celebratory shots after a detector indicated that more than 120 shots were fired into the air, resulting in a 16-year-old boy being arrested after having fired a high-range rifle into the sky.
Celebratory shooting is an extremely dangerous crime because bullets can hit someone when they fall, and that’s exactly what happened Tuesday, July 4, at a West Palm Beach apartment complex.
West Palm Beach Police Chief Frank Adderley said, “We are asking the public, and we obviously have other holidays coming up, that this is not a safe activity within our city and we want your cooperation.”
Dozens of unused bullets and even a high-powered rifle were found by the West Palm Beach police, who for several hours investigated the area and as evidence kept a large number of casings and ammunition in a plastic bag.
Then they ended up arresting a teenager for firing a powerful weapon more than 50 times into the air while celebrating the 4th of July.
“It was a 16-year-old teenager, with a high-caliber weapon. The teenager was taken into custody for lying with his name and obviously for firing the weapon, ”authorities specified.
The police chief assured that the gunshot detection system located throughout the city is 98% effective. Police found a second firearm but its owner was not arrested as no bullets matched that weapon.
Fortunately, no one was injured after the hundreds of shots fired into the air, even so, the authorities ask for the collaboration of the population to avoid these incidents.
