Is it safe to shoot up? An analysis of the lethality of subsonic projectiles

Abstract Celebratory gunfire is the shooting of a firearm into the air in celebration. This is common in countries as Afghanistan, Pakistan and regions of Latin American. In this article, we have solved the problem of a projectile with subsonic speed shooted upward, considering the air resistance. For didactic purposes, we draw a parallel between the case with and without air resistance. We conclude that even small-caliber projectile can be lethal when falling, a despite the decrease in speed and kinetics energy.