Seeing the New Year in with a bang is one thing, but it’s wise to keep a steady hand.
That is the learning from a pair of tragic incidents that occurred on New Year’s Eve in which two women lost their lives.
In the first, a Cleveland man killed his girlfriend while firing celebratory gunshots to ring in 2020, police said.
The accident occurred at the home the 31-year-old victim shared with her 38-year old boyfriend, according to a report on Cleveland.com.
The unnamed woman was shot in the chest just after midnight Wednesday at the New Year’s Eve gathering she and her boyfriend were hosting at their place. She was rushed to hospital still alive but was pronounced dead in the early hours of the morning.
According to Cleveland police spokeswoman Jennifer Ciaccia, the victim was killed when her boyfriend whipped out a firearm and began “popping off” celebratory shots.
The woman’s partner was arrested at the residence, but had not yet been charged as of Wednesday afternoon. The incident remains under investigation by homicide detectives, Ciaccia said.
The shooting was one of 11 incidents involving gunfire in a nine-hour span between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in Cleveland. In all, 13 people were shot.
In a separate incident, a Texas woman was also killed by what police believe was celebratory gunfire. Philippa Ashford, 61, collapsed just after midnight while at a party in Houston when she suddenly clutched her body.
“I think I’ve been shot,” Ashford said before dying at the scene.