Please Don't Shoot Your Gun Into The Air Tonight, LA

LOS ANGELES, CA — It happens every year, but Los Angeles police and sheriff's department officials are warning people not to fire their weapons into the air in celebration of the New Year. It may seem like fun and games, but it could end in jail or death, authorities warn.

"The adage of `what goes up, must come down' rings especially true in this case, and with the acceleration of gravity, physics determine free-falling objects speed up as they return to Earth," according to a sheriff's department statement. "The danger of injuring someone with firing even a single round into the air is a lethal prospect."

Law enforcement officials said that despite annual warnings about the dangers of such gunfire, the noise of discharging weapons is a common sound on New Year's Eve.

"The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department wants all to know shooting into the air is not only irresponsible, but a felony-level crime," according to the agency.

Sheriff's officials urged anyone who sees someone fire a weapon into the air to take shelter and call 911.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.