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Beaumont woman warns others about dangers of firing guns on New Years after finding bullet in her kitchen

The Beaumont mother said the bullet was found in the area where she keeps food for her 4-year-old daughter.

BEAUMONT, Texas — A Beaumont woman was left shaken after a stray bullet went through her roof and landed in her home on New Year’s Eve.

Shalon Marks, Beaumont resident, blames the incident on people shooting guns into the air to celebrate the new year. She said the bullet could have killed her 4-year-old daughter.

“What if I was at home when this happened,” Marks said.

Marks said her family dodged a literal bullet by spending New Year's Eve at her mother’s house. Upon arriving home Saturday night, she first noticed pieces of sheetrock on her kitchen counter.

The discovery after that surprised her.

“I noticed the hole first, and I looked around trying to see what could've possibly come through, and I saw the bullet,” Marks said.

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Marks found the bullet in the area where she keeps food for her 4-year-old daughter. The mother said she cannot help but think about what could have happened if they had been home.

“What if we would've been at home,” Marks said. “She would've been running back and forth, 'Mama can I have this? Mama can I have that?,' and she would've been right there at that cabinet.”

Marks feels frustrated not knowing who is responsible for potentially putting her daughter’s life at risk. The Beaumont mother sees no point in firing guns into the air, especially in residential areas.

“It's a pretty big hole,” Marks said. “If that was a person, my child, it could've been really bad, really, really bad. We got to do better because it could cost innocent people their lives.”

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According to firearms safety specialists, firing a handgun or rifle into the air can send a bullet as far as a quarter of a mile. To put it in perspective, specialists said a bullet shot at the corner of College Street and 11th Street could travel far enough to  injure or kill someone past the Interstate 10 bridge.

“That firearm would shoot a bullet over the Interstate 10 bridge with enough energy to kill a full-sized human adult,” Doc Watson, firearms safety specialists, said.

Firing guns within city limits is reckless, dangerous, and could cost someone their life, Watson said.

“Those rounds could reach all the way to Parkdale Mall,” Watson said. “And how much damage could dozens of bullets do falling into an area like Parkdale or within a neighborhood.”

Shalon Marks believes God was watching over her and her family on New Year’s Eve. She had originally planned to be home with her kids that night.

Credit: 12NewsNow

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