Parents of Slain Child Warn Against Celebratory Gunfire

Kansas City police and the parents of a girl killed by a stray bullet are warning residents against shooting guns on the Fourth of July.

The Kansas City Star reports that police say the celebratory gunfire is dangerous. The door-to-door education effort focused on neighborhoods where it has been a problem.

Joining police were the parents of Blair Shanahan Lane, an 11-year-old killed by a stray bullet five years ago. The man convicted in Blair's death served 18 months in prison.

The parents and police officers saw damage from random gunfire at nearly every home they visited. On one street, every single house had at least one bullet hole.

Some residents said they hid in their basements on the night of July 4 to avoid the gunfire.