(CNN) — The sheriff in Allen County, Ohio, narrowly escaped injury from a stray bullet just minutes after the new year began.
Allen County Sheriff Matthew B. Treglia, 48, and Major Todd Mohler, 49, were sitting in a patrol car car in downtown Lima, across from the Civic Center, when Mohler decided to record a video for “PSA purposes,” according to a Facebook post.
The PSA was to warn against the “celebratory” gunshots that were fired into the air on New Year’s Eve, which happens yearly despite attempts to discourage it, Treglia said.
Around 12:05 a.m., a bullet struck a nearby Lima Police Department vehicle and ricocheted into the sheriff’s cruiser, passing inches from Mohler’s face and striking Treglia’s chest, the Facebook post said.
Luckily for Treglia, the bullet bounced off the protective vest he was wearing.
“My immediate thought was that someone had fired directly at our parked units intentionally, but when I realized I wasn’t injured and had a moment to process it, I quickly assumed it was a falling celebratory bullet,” Treglia tells CNN.
Nobody knows who fired the shot. Treglia tells CNN that he has been shot at before — but never struck by a bullet.
“What goes up, must come back down,” said the Facebook post. “Shooting any type of gun into the air is extremely dangerous and illegal. Please, handle any and all firearms safely and responsibly.
“We are sharing this video to help spread the message that anyone can be injured by this type of criminal activity.”
A 61-year-old woman from Houston was killed by apparent celebratory gunfire while celebrating New Year’s Eve.
