# How many people die or get injured from vertical machine gun fire?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-die-or-get-injured-from-vertical-machine-gun-fire/274417>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 12, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-die-or-get-injured-from-vertical-machine-gun-fire/274417 "2004-11-12T18:25:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-die-or-get-injured-from-vertical-machine-gun-fire/274417/1 "2004-11-12T18:25:20Z")

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When all those crazy towel-hea…er… enthusiastic Arabs fire their AKs in the air I assume the bullets eventually come back to earth. Do people often get killed or injured by those falling bullets?

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**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-die-or-get-injured-from-vertical-machine-gun-fire/274417/2 "2004-11-12T18:29:49Z")

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[The master speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a950414b.html)

Bullets that are shot straight up the air can and do kill people although I don’t know the numbers. New Orleans had a couple of instances of innocent people being killed by celebration fire bullets came back down. It has also happened in Los Angeles and a few other places that I have heard of.

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**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-die-or-get-injured-from-vertical-machine-gun-fire/274417/3 "2004-11-12T21:34:26Z")

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Maybe they use their _kevlar_ headwrap if they go out to party mideast-style.

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**Author:** ![jawdirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@jawdirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jawdirk)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-die-or-get-injured-from-vertical-machine-gun-fire/274417/4 "2004-11-12T22:38:44Z")

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I heard on CNN that 9 people at Arrarat’s departure were injured by falling bullets. That’s not very many, considering how many shots were fired, and how many people were there.

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**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2004, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-die-or-get-injured-from-vertical-machine-gun-fire/274417/5 "2004-11-12T23:21:46Z")

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Don’t have the exact numbers for the US but every year there are stories on the news about people being injured or killed on New Year’s Eve from falling bullets (some nimrod fires straight up to ring in the new year). It has been a big problem in LA IIRC.

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**Author:** ![vinniepaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@vinniepaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vinniepaz)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-die-or-get-injured-from-vertical-machine-gun-fire/274417/6 "2004-11-13T03:00:40Z")

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> [@Lobsang](#):
>
> When all those crazy towel-hea…er… enthusiastic Arabs

When all those crazy nigg… i mean… black men…

Not so acceptable is it?

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-die-or-get-injured-from-vertical-machine-gun-fire/274417/7 "2004-11-13T03:28:14Z")

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**lobsang** Your insensitivity in your OP (_towel-hea_) is becoming part of a pattern.

You were warned a few days ago by **Cajun Man** for deliberately flaunting the rules in **MPSIMS**.

In your own words from a warning thread last year, you said

> [@](#):
>
> It is rare that I behave like a dickhead here, but it does happen on occasion.

Try to get better, son. This is getting tedious.

Closed, on account of dickheadedness.

**samclem** GQ moderator