Indianapolis family encourages responsible gun ownership during Independence Day

INDIANAPOLIS — As much as we all want to have fun on Independence Day, police say your holiday should not include celebratory gunfire.

“It’s disappointing that we still see in 2024 individuals firing firearms into the air. That bullet is going to come down,” IMPD Officer Tommy Thompson said.

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An Indianapolis family joins that call, urging people to be responsible gun owners after their home was hit by a stray bullet earlier this year.

“Do we need to hide in our basement to feel safe?” Tiffany Barnett said.

Tiffany and Jerome Barnett say they were lying in bed on New Year’s Eve when they heard the sound of gunshots.

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“We didn’t even realize that something had hit the house until I saw there was some white residue in the dog bowl, and it made me look up to the ceiling and I saw the hole,” Barnett told WRTV.

Inside that hole? The Barnett's say was a bullet.

They claim it was from people shooting their guns in celebration of the new year the night before.

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“What goes through my mind is that people could get hurt from it and it needs to stop,” Barnett said.

IMPD says the department sees an uptick in calls during holidays when fireworks may be shot into the air.

“Oftentimes when we have these high incidents, when we do have fireworks, officers are in position where they can hear and they can usually tell the difference,” Officer Thompson said.

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The hole in the Barnett’s ceiling has now been fixed but the memory is still there, especially on days like today.

“We should be able to be up watching TV with family and friends, doing whatever we need to do, but now we have to think about it's July 4th or it's New Year’s Day so we are going to go in our basement and hide because we are sacred that we are going to get shot,” Barnett said.