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'Guns aren't toys:' Do not fire guns to celebrate July 4th, officials say

Local leaders are asking the community not to engage in celebratory gunfire on Independence Day. Firing guns into the air can endanger people for miles around. Some people hit by stray bullets survive, but for other innocent bystanders, these dangerous celebrations are deadly.
Posted 2022-07-04T20:38:14+00:00 - Updated 2023-07-01T14:48:47+00:00
After 6 years the Fourth of July Fireworks returned to the NC State Fairgrounds on Wednesday, July 4, 2018.
(Photo By: Beth Jewell/WRAL Contributor)

Local leaders are asking the community not to engage in celebratory gunfire on Independence Day.

Firing guns into the air can endanger people for miles around. Some people hit by stray bullets survive, but for other innocent bystanders, these dangerous celebrations are deadly.

In Durham in 2020, a 74-year old woman was killed by "celebratory gunfire" on the 4th of July.

Paulette Thorpe was shot on the 500 block of Burlington Ave. in Durham around 11 p.m. She died at the hospital, officials said.

People in the area said gunfire could be heard echoing across the city, with many too scared to even step outside.

Thorpe is not the only person in Durham to be killed by "celebratory gunfire." In the past few years alone, several North Carolinians have been injured or killed by stray bullets.

A Durham grandmother, Delores Burwell, was struck by celebratory gunfire on New Year's Eve in 2022. Her death was the second deadly incident of celebratory gunfire in Durham in recent years, following the death of 74-year-old Paulette Thorpe on the Fourth of July in 2020.

Thorpe was sitting outside a friend's house on Burlington Avenue when a bullet fell from the sky, killing her.

Her friend, Linda M. Leake, who saw the bullet hit Thorpe, described the terrifying moment.

"She kind of slumped back like, ‘Ow, something bit me.’ And I said, ‘Girl nothing bit you, you done got shot!'" Leake said.

Two years later, Leake still misses her friend.

"She was good people. She was a beautiful person," Leake said.

Thorpe’s family also feels her absence. Her nephew, Carlos Lyons, described her as fun loving.

"I don’t think we’ll ever get over it, but we’re getting through it," Lyons said. "She loved our family. She loved her friends. She loved Duke and NCCU."

Last year, more than 100 complaints from Knightdale homeowners about stray bullets hitting their homes.

Celebratory gunfire is a crime

After Burwell's death on New Year's Eve, Durham State House Representative Marcia Morey explained the variety of criminal consequences for celebratory gunfire.

Ahead of 2022 Fourth of July celebrations, Durham City Councilman Leonardo Williams asked gun owners to be more responsible – to avoid more tragic deaths.

"I just want folks to internalize that it could be their family member, it could be them," Williams said.

Leake lives two doors down from the shooting site, but she says she will continue to celebrate Independence day – and Thorpe’s life.

"I’m not going to let fear spoil my joy. I’m not going to let the devil steal my joy," Leake said.

Celebratory gunfire is not only an issue in Durham. Last year, Alex Christie was hit by a stray bullet while watching fireworks in Raleigh.

"I felt something like the size of a softball hit me in the back really hard and really hot, knocked the wind out of me," Christie said.

She said she still struggles with pain and soreness at times.

"I’ve owned guns my whole life, my dad has, my family has, so I’m not not used to having guns around and knowing what they can do and the harm, but people kinda treat them like toys nowadays," Christie said. "Guns aren’t toys. They’re here to protect us and our safety."

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