Moments after 2020 began, a Little Rock 8-year-old was nearly injured by what police call a “common occurrence in and around the city” on New Year’s Eve: celebratory gunfire.
The child and his father, Larry Williams, 47, were headed home from a New Year’s Eve church service shortly after midnight when a projectile police believe was a bullet struck Williams’ Nissan Maxima’s sunroof on Walker Street near 29th Street.
Williams said that when the bullet hit, his son was in the backseat, slightly behind the part of the roof that was struck.
Police believe the bullet deflected off the roof, and Williams was also able to close the roof cover, according to the police report, to prevent broken glass from falling into the car.
“I was just praising God he was sitting in the back with his seatbelt on,” Williams said. “I’ve heard other people weren’t as fortunate.”
Williams is right — in Phoenix, a 3-year-old was injured by a stray bullet around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and in Houston, a woman died from what police believe was celebratory gunfire.
Little Rock police officer Eric Barnes said no injuries from such gunfire were reported in the city this year, but the city's gunfire detection system counted more than 140 shots fired from 11:59 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday.
Barnes said that number is much higher than a normal night. He added that ShotSpotter employees listen to the audio snippets captured by the technology to verify that the system was activated by gunfire, not fireworks or other loud noises.
He said officers respond to every report, and celebratory gunfire on New Year’s Eve is a problem each year.
“Obviously we don’t recommend that,” Barnes said. “Because bullets have to come down.”
Barnes said that in an attempt to mitigate the problem, police identify areas that often experience shootings and increase patrols.
Command officers on duty New Year’s Eve also go out on patrols, but Barnes said this only adds about 15 extra people on the ground.
“On a night like that, manpower-wise, it will be hard to make a dent in such a high number,” Barnes said.
Police and other law enforcement also put out public service announcements, including on social media, about the dangers of celebratory gunfire.
Barnes said the problem is steady, though, and doesn’t believe there has been a great shift in the number of shots fired in recent years.
“We try to inform people,” Barnes said. “You never know where they’re going to come down.”
As for Williams, he said he never dreamed he or his family would be in danger from a stray celebratory bullet, even though his mother had warned him not to leave church right away for that very reason.
“That’s a life lesson,” Williams said. “We know now, don’t leave church until at least 12:30.”