71
COURTESY GOOGLE MAPS
Kealakekua is seen on a map of the Big Island. A Kealakekua man says a stray bullet fired during New Year's Eve celebrations pierced the roof of his home.
Enlarge map
KAILUA-KONA >> A stray bullet fired during New Year’s Eve celebrations fell and pierced the roof of a home on the Big Island, police and the homeowner said.
Farzad Fazeli of Kealakekua said the bullet left a 1-inch diameter hole in the ceiling of his dining room, then hit the wood floor near a table and bounced toward a window.
West Hawaii Today reported that no one was in the room at the time the bullet struck between 10:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Police confiscated the .44-caliber bullet. He says police said it would be difficult to pinpoint exactly who shot the bullet, Fazeli said.
Fazeli said the incident left him and his family feeling "freaked out and insecure."
He was sitting about 10 feet away from where the bullet came in through the ceiling and was thankful his son was there, he said.
"No one expects a bullet to come through their roof like that. That bullet could have injured or killed someone," Fazeli said. "What if it was a full round of bullets? What’s it going to take for people to stop this? A death?"
Kona patrol Lt. William Souther of the Hawaii Police Department confirmed the incident. He says firing bullets into the sky is dangerous and illegal.
"What goes up must come down again and you don’t know exactly where," Souther said.
Under state law, firing a bullet in a populated area or near or toward roads and streets is considered second-degree reckless endangering, a misdemeanor.
