North Austin mother finds bullet feet from where her son sleeps

A North Austin mother said she found a bullet on New Year's Day, just feet from where her son sleeps at night.

"It’s just really close. It’s too close for comfort," Andrea Kaplan-Chambers said.

Kaplan-Chambers said it was New Year's Day, and she was heading out the door.

"I was taking my son out in the morning to the playground," Kaplan-Chambers said.

On her walkway, she said she found a bullet.

"I matched that with all the gunshots I heard last night over New Year’s Eve plus the fireworks, I figured that a bullet had fallen from the sky back to my front lawn," Kaplan-Chambers said.

She said she found it just a few feet from where her son sleeps.

"My first thought was like ‘can bullets penetrate a roof, where would it have fallen if it would have fell on him,’ and then I thought about medical costs and stuff if it hit him," Kaplan-Chambers said.

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A North Austin mother says she found a bullet on New Years Day just feet from where her son sleeps at night. 

A bullet can return to the ground with enough force to cause serious injury or even death.

"It makes me nervous about how careless people can be with such forceful weapons, I just want people to be responsible if they’re going to use them," Kaplan-Chambers said.

No one was hurt in this case, but Kaplan-Chambers said it makes her think "what if?"

"You spend like two years trying to keep a toddler alive through a pandemic, and then you find a bullet outside your house, it’s like what else," Kaplan-Chambers said.

Celebratory gunfire is illegal in Austin and other Texas cities with populations of 100,000 or more people. Kaplan-Chambers suggests people choose a different way to celebrate.

"It’s inconsiderate and if you really want to set stuff up and blow stuff up, just set off fireworks," Kaplan-Chambers said.

If you’re caught shooting celebratory gunshots in the city, it’s a Class A Misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $4,000.

Texas Gun Sense released a statement on the incident: "Every holiday season, police departments spread awareness about the dangers of celebratory gun fire, which kills dozens each year. Unfortunately in Texas, some families’ lives have been tragically and forever changed by preventable deaths caused by firing guns in the air during holidays. We recommend that the Texas Legislature make celebratory gunfire illegal in all parts of the state and strengthen penalties, and that gun owners heed warnings from law enforcement."