Monday, January 2, 2012

12-year-old boy in coma after being shot in head by New Year's celebration gunfire


12-year-old Diego Duran, of Ruskin, Florida, was sitting in his front yard with his parents and family friends watching fireworks on New Year's eve when he fell to the ground, bleeding from his nose and eyes. "He just dropped," his father told reporters. "All of a sudden, hell broke loose - blood all over the place."
His parents did not realize Diego had been shot when they rushed him to the local hospital. There the doctors discovered not only that Diego had been shot, but that the bullet remained lodged in his head. The bullet went into the top of Diego's head and embedded itself in his cheek.
Diego is in a coma and is listed in critical condition. Police are trying to determine where the bullet came from but say it could have traveled miles.
Just last week, officials in Miami launched a media campaign, One Bullet Kills the Party, to implore the public to abandon the tradition of firing bullets into the air to celebrate New Year's Eve. "They can fall on people, they can fall on children," said Miami-Dade commissioner.
Hillsborough County's sheriff also commented on the dangers of celebration gunfire when talking to reporters about Diego. "Nationally it's a huge issue," he said. "What somebody thinks is a cheap form of gun and entertainment, it has potentially catastrophic consequences."
Arizonans for Gun Safety also has a campaign against celebration gunfire, "Celebration Gunfire Kills."

1 comment:

Unknown said...

It's an uphill battle trying to reason with reckless gun owners.