At least 24 people were injured after they were hit with stray bullets on Saturday in Karachi in Pakistan when people fired guns in the air to celebrate the arrival of the New Year. Despite a ban and warning against celebratory gunfire, the city was echoed with aerial gunfire, while the police failed to put a check on such activities.
Several people, including a child and women, were injured due to aerial firing in different parts of Karachi city. As the clock ticked 12 am last night, the port city resonated with the sounds of heavy gunfire despite a ban on the display of firearms, according to reports by Pakistani media.
There were videos on social media showing people in Karachi celebrating the new year with firing their guns in the air. In one such video, a group of youths is seen riding two-wheelers while firing in the air.
People were injured by stray bullets in several parts of the city, and were brought to different hospitals. The Civil Hospital received eight injured, four injured were brought to Jinnah Hospital, and ten injured citizens, including women and children, were admitted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment.
Following the illegal firing incidents and the injuries, the police led a crackdown against miscreants who were involved in aerial firing, and during their operations, they arrested more than 10 suspects in the city. As per directions from Additional IG Karachi Javed Alam Odho, the miscreants will be booked under attempt to murder charges of the Pakistan Penal Code.
A police official said that they had already sent messages on different platforms and barred the people from resorting to aerial firing, but they did not take it seriously and now they had to face the law.
Describing how people were injured by bullets fired in the air aimed towards the sky, an official said that a bullet comes down at the speed of 300 kmph, and a bullet travelling at just 100 kmph is enough to pierce the human skin.
Similar celebratory firings took place in Lahore also, and police have arrested 20 people in the city. Many other incidents of illegal firing to celebrate the new year were also reported in other parts of the country despite warnings by the respective district administrations and the police.