The New Year celebrations were marred in several countries by deaths and injuries caused by celebratory gunfire. Tragically, in Decatur, Georgia, in the US, four-year old Marquel Peters was killed when a bullet entered the church where he was sitting with his family, hitting the innocent child in the head. Ballistics experts suggested the bullet had been fired from an AK-47 assault rifle, possibly from as far as three miles away. The story made headlines around the world because of its apparent randomness, but it was far from unique.

In Miami, Florida, a six year-old Italian boy remains in a serious but stable condition after being struck by a stray bullet just hours after community leaders held a press conference urging people to refrain from celebratory gunfire. Miami Police spokeswoman Kenia Rayes said: “People should not shoot in the air, regardless if it is a holiday. Never shoot in the air. These are the consequences.”

In Medellin, Colombia, an eight year-old girl was pronounced brain dead after being struck in the head by a bullet. She was buried on 4 January. Another eight year-old girl is recuperating after being wounded in the stomach.

In Guatemala City, a Christmas eve celebration went tragically wrong when Elisa Reyes Flores, a 55-year old mother of four, was killed by a stray bullet while watching a fireworks display with her family. There were similar incidents in Veracruz, Mexico, when a five year-old girl was killed by a falling bullet on New Year’s Eve; and in Naples, Italy, where 24 year-old Nicola Sarpa was killed by random gunfire while watching the festivities from his balcony. In El Zapote, Honduras, 12 year-old Erlin Joshua Zalaya died, after an allegedly inebriated man began firing celebratory gunshots on 20 December. In El Salvador, a 20-month old girl from Santa Ana remains in hospital after being hit in the face by a bullet. In the Philippines, 26 people sustained injuries caused by stray bullets, compared with 17 last year.

Gabriel Conte of CLAVE, noted that the impact of aerial gunfire has been reduced by 25% in Brazil by keeping better records of the details of incidents, allowing police to investigate them as crimes, rather than tragic accidents. “The effects are not quantifiable in cold statistics,” he said.  “The impact on people who are injured, and their families, is appalling.”