As the clock hit midnight, kicking off 2026, the sounds of celebration in Dallas were overshadowed by the crackles of gunfire. This longstanding issue continues to endanger residents and strain police resources.
The Dallas Police Department (DPD) reported around 750 calls related to “celebratory gunfire” on New Year’s Eve this year.
According to DPD, these calls were mainly reports of people firing weapons into the air, or off highway bridges, a “tradition” in some areas of the City that police say is both dangerous and illegal under Texas law.
While the number of reported shootings is down slightly from last year’s approximation of 865 related calls, it still spotlights a huge public safety concern in the City.
Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux addressed the issue in a pre-holiday press conference, urging residents to celebrate responsibly.
“Gunfire— always know if a bullet goes up—it has to come down. And one of the things we don’t want to do is just have random gunfire going in the air, knowing that these bullets have to come down and can kill someone. And then all of a sudden, someone just trying to have fun or celebrate ends up injuring, hurting, or killing someone, and it would alter their life in your life forever,” Comeaux said.
Fortunately, no major injuries from stray bullets have been reported this year as of press time, but the “celebratory” shootings have previously resulted in multiple deaths across the country in the past few decades.
A video posted by local media account Dallas Texas TV captured the chaos unfolding on a busy highway overpass in Dallas just after midnight.
The footage, which has gone viral with over 60,000 views, shows a crowd of people gathered on the bridge, shooting guns indiscriminately off the bridge with fireworks popping in the background. The video also shows cars driving by slowing on the highway, or just completely parked on the highway, as bursts of gunfire light up the area, with bystanders seemingly undeterred by any potential danger or getting arrested.
Under Texas Penal Code Section 42.12, recklessly discharging a firearm within city limits is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.
The Texas Department of Public Safety also had ordinances that reinforced those restrictions, prohibiting the discharge of a gun in municipalities except under specific circumstances, such as self-defense.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has long documented the dangers of “celebratory gunfire.”
In a 2004 report on lethal New Year’s Eve shootings in Puerto Rico, the agency highlighted how falling bullets can travel at speeds that can easily cause severe injury or death, citing cases where victims were struck inside their own home, or other cases where they were far from the shooting site.
“When fired into the air, bullets can return to the ground at speeds greater than 200 ft./sec., a sufficient force to penetrate the human skull and cause serious injury or death (1). News media reports from around the world suggest that celebratory gunfire injuries might be a widespread public health problem,” the CDC report reads.
While the CDC’s findings show the very real and unpredictable dangers of holiday season celebratory shootings, dangers that have claimed lives across the U.S. for decades, Dallas’ leaders continue to battle the issue head-on each year.
