DETROIT (WXYZ) — As Detroit prepares to ring in the new year, police are reminding residents that celebratory gunfire remains illegal and dangerous, nearly three decades after a local family lost their loved one to this reckless tradition.
Watch Ruta Ulcinaite's video report:
Chalaundra Latham was just a teenager when her mother, Saundra Latham, was killed by celebratory gunfire on New Year's Eve 1996. The family was celebrating near Grand River Avenue and Robson Street when the clock struck midnight and gunfire erupted in their neighborhood.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, get to one and you hear the shots, I hear, 'Get down, get down!'" Chalaundra Latham said, recalling that tragic night.
When the gunfire stopped, her mother didn't get up.
"It came in through the side window. Hit her in the eye," Latham said.
Saundra Latham lost her life that day, leaving behind a devastated family that continues to feel the impact nearly 30 years later.
FULL INTERVIEW: Chalaundra Latham talks about her mother, Saundra Latham, shooting death due to celebratory gunfire
"That was a big loss. My mom played a big roll in me and my sister and our family's life, we're very family orientated, her grandkids, it was hard, it's still hard around the holidays," Chalaundra Latham said.
Since then, the Latham family has upheld a campaign encouraging people to "ring in the new year with bells, not bullets."
At Detroit Police Department headquarters on Wednesday, Assistant Police Chief Franklin Hayes emphasized that the department has two main priorities on New Year's Eve: watching for impaired drivers and preventing celebratory gunfire.
"I want to remind everyone that discharging a firearm in the city limits is a crime," Hayes said. "Prosecution will follow."
While Hayes noted that the department has seen less of this disturbing tradition over the years, it still exists.
"We want them to bring the year in ringing a bell, and not in a jail cell," Hayes added.
The ongoing concern affects how some Detroit residents celebrate. Ronald Cranford, a Detroit resident, said he and his neighbors avoid being outside right at midnight to stay safe.
"We definitely go in early," Cranford said.
Meanwhile, the Latham family's message remains simple as another New Year's Eve approaches.
"Ring it in with a bell, not a bang, that's what I'm asking people," Chalaundra Latham said.
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