Celebratory gunfire
Celebratory gunfire is the shooting of a firearm into the air in celebration. It sometimes occurs in parts of the Balkans, Russia, the Middle East, South Asia, Latin America, the United States, and Ethiopia, even where illegal. Common occasions for celebratory gunfire include New Year's Day as well as religious holidays. The practice sometimes results in random death and injury from stray bullets. Property damage is another result of celebratory gunfire; shattered windows and damaged roofs are sometimes found after such celebrations. Injuries Depending on the angle it is fired, the speed of a falling bullet changes. A bullet fired nearly vertically will lose the most speed, usually falling at terminal velocity, which is much lower than its muzzle velocity. Despite this, people can still be injured or killed by bullets falling at this speed. If a bullet is fired at other angles, it maintains its angular ballistic trajectory and is far less likely to engage in tumbling motion; it therefore travels at speeds much higher than a bullet in free fall. Dense, small bullets achieve higher terminal velocities than lighter, larger bullets. Between 1918 and 1920, United States Army Ordnance Corps Julian Hatcher conducted experiments to determine the velocity