Texas Legislator Hit by Stray Bullet on New Year’s Eve
Texas State Representative Armando Martinez had a rough New Year’s Eve, after being hospitalized from a stray bullet falling from the air after a celebration.after he was released from the hospital.
After Martinez was released from the hospital, he stated that “What goes up must come down,”.
Martinez was celebrating with loved ones outside a friend’s house on New Year’s Eve when the incident happened. He said he heard gunfire earlier that night but didn’t hear it again until fireworks went off at the stroke of midnight.
“My wife comes over and gives me a kiss and right when she did that I just felt it,” Martinez said.
The bullet went through his skull.
“It was like a sledgehammer,” he said.
Doctors said the bullet was just millimeters away from damaging the lawmaker’s brain.
“My wife was right next to me, you know? Just another move to the right she could’ve been hit in the face or the neck, or one of the kids behind us,” Martinez said.
Martinez described the incident as a wake-up call for ensuring the safety of other Texans. He now plans to draft legislation to stiffen the penalties for celebratory gunfire as soon as the new legislative session begins on Jan. 10.
“There’s not anything in the books for celebratory gun firing,” he said.
Getting any type of gun restriction bill passed in the conservative Texas legislature is something the democrat knows can be unpopular. But Martinez said he’s already heard support from both sides of the aisle after receiving multiple phone calls from fellow legislators in Austin and the governor.
“Republicans and democrats have called and said they would support any type of legislation that would address this,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what it is, they are on board, and so that means a lot to me. In the end, it’s not about political parties, it’s not about your political philosophy. It’s about passing legislation that could potentially save a life and that’s when everybody comes together.”
Martinez said he is grateful to be alive after this freak accident and for all the support he’s received from people all over the country.
Meanwhile, the local Sheriff’s Department is looking to arrest the person responsible.