Bryan Stalder 
Contributor

As Kansas City prepares to ring in 2026, police, elected officials and gun safety advocates are once again urging residents to celebrate without gunfire — a tradition that continues to put lives, homes and neighborhoods at risk every New Year’s Eve.

Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) officials say the message has not changed over the years because the danger has not changed either: bullets fired into the air must come down, and when they do, they can seriously injure or kill someone blocks — or miles — away.

“What goes up must come down,” KCPD leaders have repeatedly warned during statements in past New Year’s Eve briefings. “Once that bullet leaves the gun, you don’t get to decide where it lands.”

Celebratory gunfire remains illegal within Kansas City limits and is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine for a first offense. If someone is injured or property is damaged, the penalties increase significantly.

Over the past several years, New Year’s Eve has consistently generated hundreds of calls to 9-1-1 reporting the sound of gunshots, along with widespread ShotSpotter activations across Kansas City’s urban core, including Central, Metro and East Patrol divisions.

In prior years, police have documented thousands of rounds fired during the overnight hours, along with injuries, damaged homes and vehicles — and even police vehicles struck by falling bullets.

While some years have shown modest declines in reported gunfire, KCPD officials have stressed that any amount is too much.

For Michele Shanahan-DeMoss, the danger of celebratory gunfire is not theoretical.

Her daughter, 11-year-old Blair Shanahan Lane, was killed by a falling bullet on July 4, 2011 — a random incident that continues to shape Kansas City’s annual pleas for restraint.

“A gun is not a toy,” Shanahan-DeMoss has said. “A bullet doesn’t have a name on it. If just one person had called 911 that night, my daughter might still be here.”

More than 14 years later, her story is still cited by police and city leaders as a stark reminder of what is at stake. Missouri’s former Gov. Mike Parson signed “Blair’s Law” on July 9, 2024, named for Blair Shanahan Lane, making it a felony for anyone caught recklessly firing a gun into the air.

KCPD continues to emphasize that residents should call 911 if they hear gunfire, even if it seems routine or happens every year.

“If you don’t call, we don’t know it’s happening,” is a message that officers have repeatedly communicated to the public. While ShotSpotter technology can detect where shots are fired, it cannot identify who fired them or stop it without officers being dispatched to the area.

Providing a location is enough to start the process, police say. Additional details — such as a suspect description, vehicle information or the number of shots — can help officers respond more effectively, but are not required to make a report.

Mayor Quinton Lucas has previously described growing up in Kansas City and spending New Year’s Eve nights on the floor to avoid stray bullets — an experience many residents still share today.

“This happens in every part of the city,” Lucas has said in past years. “We want people to celebrate, but we want them to do it in a way that doesn’t put their neighbors at risk.”

City leaders, police and advocates say the solution is simple: celebrate with fireworks shows, noise-makers, music, or gatherings with friends and family — anything except firing a gun.

“This is preventable,” Shanahan-DeMoss has said. “It didn’t have to happen. And it doesn’t have to happen again.”

As Kansas City welcomes a new year, officials say the responsibility lies with everyone — to put the guns away, look out for one another, and start the new year safely.