Boy, 7, shot dead by stray bullet 'fired into the air in celebration' as he walked to July 4 fireworks display with his dad

Gun fired in the air as revelers celebrated Independence Day, police say

26-year-old woman also injured by stray bullet in separate incident



A seven-year-old boy has died in hospital the day after being hit by a stray bullet as he walked to a July 4 fireworks display with his father.



Brendon Mackey was only a few steps behind his father when he collapsed in the car park of a Virginia restaurant at about 9pm.



It wasn't until he was being treated in hospital that doctors discovered the gunshot wound in the top of Brendon's head.



Shooting victim: Brendon Mackey was killed by a stray bullet as he went to a fireworks display with his father

Investigation: Police cordon off the restaurant car park where Brendon was hit by a stray bullet

Police believe the shooting was an accident, and said it was possible someone near the Boathouse Restaurant in Midlothian had fired a gun in the air to celebrate Independence Day , according to CBS 6

' We don’t think this was an intentional shooting. We think that somebody in or around the Brandermill area was celebrating the Fourth of July,' Chesterfield Police Captain Brad Badgerow said.

'Unfortunately we think they were shooting a gun in a reckless manner and this young boy is a victim.'

Brendon, who was due to join the 3rd grade at C. E. Curtis Elementary in Chester, had been walking to the crowded fireworks display at Swift Creek Reservoir in Brandermill when he suddenly collapsed to the ground, bleeding .



At first his father, Ryan Mackey, thought he had passed out and knocked his head.

Tribute: The parents of Brendon Mackey remember their son, who loved golf and SpongeBob Squarepants

Emergency teams who were working at the display rushed to his aid. When he was taken to hospital, doctors discovered he had been shot in the head.



DANGER OF FALLING BULLETS

Celebratory gunfire is responsible for a number of deaths in the U.S. every year. Because most victims are hit in the head by falling bullets, the chance of being killed is 32 per cent compared with 2 per cent to 6 per cent for most gun shot wounds. A study of celebratory gunfire victims treated at a Los Angeles hospital found that between 1985 and 1992, 118 people were hit and 32 were killed. A US Davis Medical Center study found across the U.S. 317 people were injured by stray bullets between March 2008 and February 2009. Of those 20 per cent died. Most victims are nowhere near where the gun was fired, such as Amish teenager Rachel Yoder who was killed in 2011 by a bullet fired into the air 1.5 miles away.

Many cities and built up areas have banned firing a gun unless in self-defense.

Celebratory gunfire has been banned in several states including California, Texas, Arizona and Ohio.



Mr Mackey has paid tribute to his young son, who loved golf and SpongeBob SquarePants, according to NBC12 .

Michelle Ryan, who lives near the reservoir, said: 'I haven't known this area to be violent or for people shoot guns.'



'It's really devastating,' she told WTVR.

As news of the shooting spread residents and staff at the Boathouse Restaurant called on anyone who saw someone firing a gun to contact police.



' Put yourself in the family’s shoes and think about how terrible it is that they are going through this tragedy and reach out to us so we can help them,' Captain Badgerow said, as he called for witnesses to come forward.

Lieutenant Randy Horowitz said police believe the fatal shooting 'was a result of someone shooting randomly into the air, likely from a distance, and not an intentional act', according to the Times-Dispatch .

Young Brendon was not the only victim of celebratory gunfire during the July 4 festivities.



A 26-year-old woman who was watching a fireworks display with her brother in Florida, was shot in the leg.

April Johnson was sitting by the edge of a street in Fort Lauderdale when she felt a pain in her thigh and saw blood coming from her leg.



Family outing: Brendon and his father Ryan were on their way to see fireworks near the Boathouse Restaurant

'This is exactly what we always warn against - people celebrating by firing their guns into the air,' sheriff's spokesman Veda Coleman-Wright told the Sun Sentinel .