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Being a neighbor to Aurora, Stapleton is no stranger to the sound of gunshots. And recently, the issue has become worse with some shots being fired within Stapleton itself. Others have reported fireworks being shot out of moving vehicles headed through Stapleton. Sure, it’s better than gunshots, but I believe residents would prefer to have neither if given the choice. “I don’t like thinking that if I am just doing yard work at my house there’s a chance I could get hit with a stray bullet,” said resident Randy Vardaman. “Or the fact that lots of kids play in the yards and alleys. We could really do without random gun fire.” Resident Shannon Lembeck is disappointed in the increase of gunfire as well. “It’s pretty discouraging,” said Lembeck. “Growing up, I always pictured myself raising kids in a ‘gunshot free zone.’”
With the Fourth of July coming up, there will be several legal fireworks displays as well as some small illegal displays and several random, rogue fireworks being shot. The difficult thing for Stapletonians becomes questioning, “was that a firework or a gunshot?” The Stapletonion asked pyrotechnics expert and gun enthusiast Tom Graham to give guidance to Stapletonians during this next three week stretch where residents could be hearing a lot of both. “The small local type fireworks such as bottle rockets and black cats have a sharp ‘BANG!’ noise,” said Graham. “A typical gunshot will have the blast, and then a small sonic boom after the shot as the bullet is traveling at supersonic speeds. So, for small fireworks and gunshots, there is a fairly distinct difference.”
Graham says it can get a little more confusing when you start hearing the large, display-style fireworks. “That gets a little trickier,” said Graham. “They will sound very similar, as there will be an echo from the large fireworks emulating the sonic boom from a gunshot. However, if you see a bright firework in the air, it was a firework, not a gunshot.” The Stapletonion offers this simple rhyme to help with the confusion: “Bang with light is our delight, bang with echo kills a fellow.” Ah, screw it, lets just hope it’s not gunshots. Have a great Fourth everyone!]]>