A FALLING bullet shot during New Year's Eve celebrations has tragically killed a four-year-old boy.

The boy, Marquel Peters, was inside a church in Decatur, Georgia, playing a video game when he suddenly collapsed at his parents feet, WSTV reports.

A police spokesman Jason Gagnon said it appears the bullet came through the church’s roof and struck Marquel in the head.

Marquel's parents were initially unaware of his injuries until blood started gushing from his head.

"I saw his Nintendo game fall on the floor, and I heard a sound and I heard him scream a little bit and I looked around and all I saw was blood coming from his head," Marquel's mother, Nathalee Peters, told Channel 2 Action News.

Attempts to keep Marquel alive at the church and later at a nearby hospital were unsuccessful.

"No one knew what it was," Marquel's uncle Garry Peters told WSTV.

"It was just crazy."

Ballistics expert Kelly Fite told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper that the bullet had most likely been fired from an AK-47 assault rifle and could have been fired as far as three to five kilometres away.

The church's pastor, Lloyd Phipps, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the youngster's death made no sense.

"It's one of those things that you just cannot make any sense out of," Mr Phipps said.

"This lady took her kid to church, which is the right thing to do. And her son got killed because of someone’s irresponsible behaviour."

Police are yet to make any arrests but are 'actively pursuing leads'.

