January 1, 2023 does not bode well for gun safety in the New Year because there were too many gun accidents to meaningfully consider, including many that appear to have resulted from celebratory gunfire. Among the reported incidents:
In Van Buren County, Michigan, 62-year-old Christopher Toppenberg was charged with murder Wednesday in connection with the celebratory gunfire deaths of Jason McCreary and David Reed. Toppenberg apparently fired into an area in which McCreary, 40, and Reed, 35, had set off fireworks in the mistaken belief that everyone had left the area. According to a sheriff’s deputy, “[h]e grabbed his [AR-15], he made a verbal acknowledgement, and then started firing rounds in the direction of where the fireworks had been lit from. Both of the victims were still down there by the fireworks when they were both shot.”
In Corpus Christi, Texas, two men firing off guns accidentally shot and killed 11-year-old Amethyst Sistine Silva who was playing in her yard when she was struck .”Guns started going off and I heard the ‘dings’ hitting over here, and I heard two, and then I heard my baby said, ‘ouch.’ When she said ‘ouch,’ she fell to the ground. I already knew it was a bullet that hit her,” her father said. 29-year-old Deonis Poindexter and 43-year-old Jacob Leal, were arrested Monday on deadly-conduct charges, a third-degree felony, but police indicated that the charges may be upgraded after investigation.
In Adelanto, California, Kenneth “Ace” Rudd, age 49, unintentionally shot and killed himself while cleaning his gun. According to his fiancée, the gun misfired because he had not properly checked the chamber. “I cannot believe this has happened, it’s so unreal. Ace had the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known, ” she added.
Jarvis Watts, a Chicago, Illinois 9-year-old, found a gun in his home and accidentally shot and killed himself while playing with it, according to a juvenile witness. Several people including adults and other children were home at the time of the shooting. On Tuesday, people gathered to release balloons in Jarvis’s memory.
In addition, accidents caused by celebratory gunfire injured many people according to reports from around the country:
In Houston, Texas, the site of a previous horrific celebratory gunfire incident, police arrested five individuals who fired guns. A 12-year old was struck in one of the incidents. Two other people were also shot. In Arlington, Texas, another 12-year old was shot while watching fireworks. According to police, it is unclear where the bullet came from.
In Atlanta, Georgia, at least three people appear to have been injured in separate incidents involving celebratory gunfire. The victims include a 17-year-old who was celebrating the New Year on Peachtree Street. “No. 1, it’s illegal and it’s extremely dangerous,” said a police spokesperson during a public safety briefing Thursday. “Often the people who are affected by the celebratory gunfire have nothing to do with the event at all. Bullets just travel where they’re gonna go.”
In Nogales, Arizona, celebratory gunfire grazed a teenage boy and struck several homes, vehicles and the side of the police station. And in Laredo, Texas, Fernando Miller was struck by a bullet precisely at midnight. According to the report, he is lucky to be alive.
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