KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A mom who lost her daughter to celebratory gunfire is urging people to put the guns down if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl.
In 2011, Blair Michaela Shanahan Lane died after being struck by a stray bullet that was fired by a group of men celebrating the Fourth of July.
"Put your guns down. Celebrate differently," Blair's mom, Michele Shanahan DeMoss said.
DeMoss' daughter was 11 at the time of her death.
Since the tragedy, DeMoss has been working with Kansas City, Missouri, police in an effort to get people to stop firing their guns during celebrations.
"Once the bullet leaves the gun, you don't know where it goes and they land in houses, cars, roofs, break windows," DeMoss said.
Kansas City Police urged people not to shoot their firearms in a Twitter post. DeMoss said she heard gunshots when the Chiefs beat the Tennessee Titans to win the AFC championship.
"Immediately when the game was over and the celebrating started, so did the gunfire," she said.
According to KCPD, there's several recent examples of celebratory gun fire.
During the New Year, the department reported over 300 calls of gun fire, and at one address, officers found over 100 shell casings and one live round.
In addition to people not shooting their guns, DeMoss also wants residents who hear the gunfire to not accept it.
"Do something about it. Because once the bullet leaves, you don't know where it's going to land. And if one person the night of July 4th, 2011 had called 911, there's a possibility Blair could still be here," DeMoss said.
