Austin Woman Nearly Struck In Head By Celebratory Gunfire

AUSTIN, TX — An East Austin woman was nearly struck in the head when a bullet penetrated the roof of her home on New Year's Eve, police said.

The celebratory gunfire occurred just after midnight on Dec. 31, Senior Police Officer Bino Cardenas wrote on Twitter. The incident occurred as the woman sat on her sofa inside her home along China Rose Drive, the officer said. To further illustrate the close call, Cardenas posted photos — one showing the hole in the woman's ceiling and another of the bullet that landed on the kitchen counter.

Firing shots into the air to celebrate New Year's Day is not an uncommon practice that has proved lethal as the bullet inevitably has to come back down at lethal speeed. A woman in Houston was killed at around the same time as the East Austin incident when celebratory gunfire struck her. The Harris County Sheriff's Office identified the victim as Phillippa Ashford, 61, who worked as a nurse manager at The Menninger Clinic.

Related story: Texas Woman Killed By Apparent Celebratory New Year's Gunfire

“Please, please.. don’t shoot up in the air!” Cadenas wrote on Twitter in dissuading others to mark the new year in similar fashion. “It’s irresponsible, illegal, and dangerous.”

The Austin Police Department has scheduled a 1:30 p.m. press conference on Thursday to detail the East Austin incident, with the woman nearly hit expected to attend. Patch will update when more information is known.

In further illustrating the danger in his Twitter posts, Cardenas provided snippets of a neighborhood post by the woman who was nearly struck by the errant bullet: "Neighbors I am sad to say a stray bullet entered my home a little after midnight last night. It came through my roof, nearly missing my head as I sat on our sofa in the living room. Luckily my 10 month old baby was not in the room, luckily my husband was standing a few feet away, luckily our dogs were not hit.

I can’t even begin to express how irresponsible it is to shoot a gun into a residential neighborhood."

In her post, the woman noted the irony of nearly being hit by gunfire despite her decision to stay home on New Year's Eve: "I chose to stay home this year and be safe for my child. Who knew the danger in that ??? We will be repairing our roof this New Years Day, so glad it’s not the hospital. Think before you act.”