Police across the Valley say they received calls about people firing guns in the air on New Year’s Eve.
While it may seem like a harmless tradition, experts say it’s anything but.
That’s because of the old proverb that says “what comes up must come down.”
For people living inside Paradise Park in Pharr, they couldn’t agree more with the old saying.
"It gives new meaning to new year's eve when we're all sitting out here enjoying the fireworks," said Henry Martins.
Turns out the real bang that night came from pieces of property damaged along Turquoise Street.
Plenty of people who live along the road shared with Action 4 News their horror stories of stray bullets going through metal roofs, a car windshield-- one of them even pierced through a ceiling and landed on a living room carpet.
"They were .45 caliber bullets... they kill,” said Martins.
The Winter Texan who has lived at the park for the last six years claimed he tried to get help from Pharr police.
Here’s what he claimed an officer told him after filing a report with his department, "Well, that's tradition down here."
But it's a tradition these winter Texans feel can kill someone.
Martins said five bullets have been recovered so far, but since he filed a police report last week not a single shred of evidence was collected.
As it turns out, even if police did find the person who fired the weapon that night they likely wouldn't even be charged.
That's because there's no ordinance on the books in the city of Pharr making it illegal to discharge a weapon from personal property.
A police spokesman said that doesn’t mean State Penal codes aren't enforceable.
Martins wonders why other cities in the Valley and even back in Minnesota where he’s there are ordinances to better protect the public.
"Just for the protection of their own people... it could have happened to full time people down here," said Martins.
And it could have been a lot worse too.
Martins just hopes now that city leaders "see" the truth behind this dangerous tradition.
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