Overview
- Deputies will run high-visibility patrols and deploy gunfire-detection technology to identify celebratory shooters on New Year’s Eve.
- Residents are urged to take cover upon hearing shots and to call 911 immediately rather than assuming someone else will report it.
- Discharging a firearm in public is a criminal offense in Miami-Dade with penalties that can include fines or jail time.
- Last year’s stray-bullet killing of 10-year-old Yaneliz Munguia remains unsolved, which the sheriff cited in pressing the zero-tolerance message.
- Emergency physicians advised sober, supervised fireworks use at home, and retailers noted safety steps such as covered fuses; authorities say bullets fired into the air can travel up to three miles.