Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
PHOENIX (AP) — Random gunfire struck and injured a toddler on New Year's Eve in a Phoenix backyard, police said Wednesday.
The 3-year-old boy was expected to survive the wound left by a bullet fragment Tuesday night, the Arizona Republic reported.
Police are searching for whoever fired the shots, said Phoenix police Sgt. Mercedes Fortune .
Though it wasn't immediately clear why the shots were fired, shooting guns into the air to celebrate the New Year and other holidays is a longstanding practice in some places.
In Arizona, the practice became a felony punishable by up to two years in prison after a stray bullet killed a 14-year-old girl in Phoenix.
The measure stiffening penalties was called “Shannon's Law” after Shannon Smith, who was killed by a stray bullet in 1999.
Since then, police have knocked on doors to warn people about firing guns on holidays. They can also use a system called ShotSpotter, a system that pinpoints the location where a gun has been fired.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
