Maybe this is a crazy question for here but there is nowhere else to ask (Iraq, middle east)

[janelle144]

And it is about the wars.

How can the armies in the Middle East shoot their guns into the air and not kill those on the ground when the bullets come down? We are always told not to shoot into the air since the bullet has to come down at a high rate of speed and kill people.

Heck, if that was true then many terrorists are killed by their own people. You see most of them firing into the air to celebrate.

[sterpetron]

Originally Posted by janelle144

And it is about the wars.

How can the armies in the Middle East shoot their guns into the air and not kill those on the ground when the bullets come down? We are always told not to shoot into the air since the bullet has to come down at a high rate of speed and kill people.

Heck, if that was true then many terrorists are killed by their own people. You see most of them firing into the air to celebrate.

Celebratory gunfire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[WestCobb]

Sometimes stray bullets do kill people. When I was in Iraq in 2006, there would be reports of a few stray civilians dying here and there due to celebratory fire after soccer matches. We were actually warned to stay in doors on the nights the Iraqi team was playing.

[TempesT68]

They did an episode of this on mythbusters. The travel speed once the bullet comes down is slowed significantly that it is no longer lethal.

[WestCobb]

Stray bullet do kill people here and there, Tempes. After a soccer match in Iraq, people would shoot so many bullets in the air that they'd come down on rooftops like raindrops. Most didn't do much harm, but every once in awhile one would cause an injury or death.