SAN ANTONIO – As Independence Day approaches, San Antonio police are reminding residents that shooting guns into the air as part of celebrations is dangerous and illegal.

A new public service announcement (PSA) campaign launched by the San Antonio Police Department aims to reduce injuries caused by stray bullets.

Jorge Valdez Mesa, a West Side man, is still recovering after being hit by a stray bullet seven months ago.

Valdez was standing on his porch watching New Year’s Day fireworks when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm. “I was like, what do you mean? I can’t feel my arm,” Valdez said. His wife, standing just inches away, narrowly escaped being hit by the bullet that landed on his elbow. “I thought about later how it could have hit my five-year-old daughter,” he added.

Valdez participates in the new PSA campaign urging people to think of others before firing guns into the air. “Just because it’s been a tradition passed down through the family to shoot up in the air, it doesn’t mean it won’t have consequences for somebody else’s family,” he said.

Valdez continues to experience numbness in his hand and remains uncertain about watching fireworks from his porch again.

Firing a gun recklessly in San Antonio is classified as a Class A misdemeanor. Offenders face fines up to $4,000 and up to one year in jail.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said the department receives more calls about celebratory gunfire ahead of the Fourth of July and January 1 than on any other day.

“In 2023, we got over 100 calls every day for people shooting guns. On New Year’s Eve, they had 361 calls, and on July 4, 304, McManus said. “These shots have the potential to hurt or even kill people,” he said.

While the department has long campaigned against shooting bullets into the air, this is the first time Chief McManus has overseen a full social media PSA campaign to address the issue.

Firing a gun recklessly in San Antonio is classified as a Class A misdemeanor. Offenders face fines up to $4,000 and up to one year in jail.

The initiative was launched in September 2024 by District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo, District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito, the SAPD, and the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, who collaborated on the project.

• In 2023 District 5 had the highest number of calls for shots heard with 6,387 and District 2 had 5,534.

• In 2024 District 1 had the highest number with 5,587 and District 5 had 5,447 calls.