NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Newport News police are urging neighbors to celebrate New Year's Eve safely and avoid celebratory gunfire as the city prepares to ring in 2026.
Police Chief Steve Drew said he wants to "bring in 2026 without a bang" and hopes 2025 will end on a quiet note in the city.
"I look forward to bringing in 2026, but I want to have a good strong and safe closure to 2025," Drew said.
Police leadership, including Drew, will be out in the community keeping watch over New Year's Eve festivities.
The chief is hoping to spread awareness about the dangers and illegality of celebratory gunfire.
"We know that celebratory gunfire is illegal, and really why is that? Because I don't want to see people get hurt," Drew said.
While avoiding celebratory gunfire might seem like common sense, incidents across Virginia over the years have led to injuries and deaths.
In 2021, around the Fourth of July, a toddler in Suffolk was grazed by a bullet thought to have been fired in celebration.
"A bullet gotta come down once you shoot it up, and it could've taken my nephew's life yesterday. It could've taken anyone's life," a family member said at the time.
In 2013, a falling bullet killed a 7-year-old named Brendon Mackey. The incident prompted the Commonwealth to tighten laws surrounding celebratory shooting. It can be a felony if a stray bullet hits someone and still a misdemeanor if it's fired but doesn't hit anyone.
"If you do that, you're going to have a strong response," Drew said.
With some people drinking alcohol in celebration, Drew is hoping people will be smart and safe.
"We can celebrate that without guns going off in the air, right?" Drew said.
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