If U shoot a bullett in the air when it comes down can it kill someone?

Question

You know how on tv and that people shoot a gun into the air above their head like a warning does anyone know if when it comes down it is likely to kill someone

Answer 1

Yep, known fact. Ask a police officer for backup

Answer 2

Yes. The bullet comes down with about the same speed that it was fired from the gun.

If you watch news reports, you will sometimes see that a person died this way. For example, people have died in Atlanta in news years eve "celebrations", because of people firing guns upward. Two of the bullets came down into the Peach Dome.

It has happened very often that people get killed this way. A person using a gun should always be aware of where they are aiming, not only the target they are trying to hit, but also what else they might hit if the target is missed.

For example, a policeman won't shoot at someone if there are other people near or behind the targetted person.

Look at the link I provided as my source.

Answer 3

A bullet fired into the air will eventually slow down, then turn due to gravity. Gravity pulls an object down to earth at a rate of 9.2 feet per second squared. Every second that passes, the velocity doubles, to a maximum or terminal velocity. The terminal velocity is largely based on aerodynamic properties. Since a bullet is made to be aerodynamic, it can reach quite lethal speeds, just as other metal objects falling from heights can. So, yes, theoretically, a bullet can kill when it falls back down. Fortunately, most shots fired "straight up" in the air are neither straight, nor totally "up". So if you fire one in a crowded area, such as at a parade, it is rare for the bullet to make it back down in the same crowded area. Even 1 degree from vertical, spread over a mile or more distance, compounded by the reciprocal angle coming down, wind shear, and aerodynamic drag, can create miles of horizontal distance. So, firing a gun at July 4th may not cause a death near the actual firing of the gun, but if it lands in a higly populated area, then yeah, the chances rise.

Answer 4

It is just possible, but quite unlikely.

When a bullet leaves the rifle barrel it is travelling very fast --perhaps around 2,900 feet per second. The explosion of gunpowder in the rifle pushes it out at this great speed.

It immediately begins to slow down under the influence of gravity until it finally reaches a speed of 0 feet per second.

At that point it is a high as it will go. It then begins to fall down. But this time the only forces acting on it are gravity which is resisted by air friction. So it will not gain anywhere near as much speed as it had when it was discharged from the rifle.

(By the way the person that told you that some caliber bullets do not fall back down to earth most certainly does not know what they are talking about.)

Think of it this way. Suppose you went to the top of the Empire State Building or Eiffel Tower and dropped a bullet over the side.

The bullet would pick up speed until it reached its terminal velocity -- which, as I mentined, is not very fast compared to the normal speed of a bullet. I guesstimate that its terminal velocity would only be something like 290 feet per second. This is only about 1/10 th of bullet's speed when leaving the barrel.

Now suppose that someone was on the ground when the bullet fell on them. Would it kill them? Not likely. It mightn't even break the skin.

But if it happened to strike them on a soft part like the eye, or perhaps on the top of an unprotected skull it certainly could do some damage.

As profclean said, the effect would depend upon the calibre of the bullet, or more precisely, the mass of the bullet. The shape of the bullet would also influence its speed. A bigger, denser, more streamlined bullet would fall slighty faster and would hit a person with more energy and therefore be more likely to damage them.

The chances of a bullet landing on someone in the counrty are extreamly small. But because of the much greater density of people in cities, the chances of a bullet falling on someone in the cities is considerably higher.

Answer 5

It actually happened in Portland, OR during the Rose Festival in 1997. I would think that the chances of it happening would greatly increase with the amount of people around. There were a ton of people on the street during Rose Fest....if someone shot off a gun into the air in a very secluded and un-populated area, the chances would be much slimmer...but yes, it has and does happen.

That is why people who shoot of guns into the air with no intention of hurting anyone can be charged with reckless endangerment.

Answer 6

Yes, that warning goes out every July 4th in Los Angeles. Probably once every 1 or 2 yrs, someone will be killed by such a stray bullet.

A bullet can be travelling at more than 100 m/s on its way down because it is aerodynamically designed.

Answer 7

Myth busters had it on their show and they tested it and they said it is busted, plausable and possible. the reason why they said it is all of the above bc when they tested it they busted it and they made it happen and they spoke to a doctor and the doctor said that he had a patient come in they people said that they were shooting guns in the air and it hit the the guy and he endend up dying from the gun shot wound which was shot up in the air and came down again.
hope this answer your question.

Answer 8

Depends on the caliber of the gun. I wondered this my self once so I asked a gun guy. He said that some bullets don't come back down (really powerful guns). However for other guns the bullet is only traveling the max speed gravity can Carry it which is 9.9 feet per second on its decent. Is it possible to fatally wound someone? Yes. Likely? No.

Answer 9

It's not likely to kill anyone, air friction slows it down, but it could wound someone. Every Jan 1st I hear stories of people finding shattered windshields or patio tables with holes in them from stray bullets falling back down.

Answer 10

The downcoming velocity of the bullet is equal to the firing velocity of the bullet. This tells us that the downcoming bullet can absolutely kill someone. For the equality of the two velocities check this:
1/2*m*Vo^2= m*g*h (at max. heght, Vo = initial velocity)
m*g*h= 1/2*m*Vf^2 (at ground strike, Vf = final velocity)
That means,
1/2*m*Vo^2=1/2*m*Vf^2
Vf=Vo
Therefore, the down coming bullet has the same velocity as it was shot and hence equally fatal. TAKE CARE!

Answer 11

Yes it can. While falling back to the earth it will attain a rather high speed depending on what type of bullet is fired. Certain high caliber bullets can reach speeds approaching 800 feet per second while falling back to earth.