DNER rangers spread anti-celebratory gunfire message at traffic intersections

By THE STAR STAFF

As part of an effort to prevent incidents associated with celebratory gunfire during Christmas festivities, members of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) Ranger Corps were stationed at numerous intersections across the island in the early morning hours of Tuesday to distribute informational materials to drivers.

The brochures also urged citizens to refrain from using fireworks, especially during New Year’s Eve.

“Our governor, Jenniffer González, has been emphatic that we must all join this effort to prevent any tragedy caused by stray bullets during the Christmas holidays,” DNER Secretary Waldemar Quiles Pérez said. “In line with this initiative, this morning, members of the Ranger Corps, including Commissioner Nelson Cruz, were stationed at various intersections [...] to distribute informational materials to promote the ‘No Bullets in the Air’ campaign and the prohibition of fireworks.”

Among the traffic intersections where the agency’s rangers distributed informational brochures were locations in Ponce Playa, as well as the Ponce Town Center shopping mall, the intersection near the Walmart entrance in Isabela, the Guayana Mall, Plaza del Atlántico in Arecibo, the Salinas shopping center, and the area where the DNER headquarters are located, among others.

“I want to thank the members of the Ranger Corps who, since the early hours of this morning, Tuesday, have been at the traffic lights, not only distributing this important material, but also talking with drivers,” Quiles Pérez said. “This interaction is very important to us.”

Law 168 of 2019, better known as the “Puerto Rico Weapons Law,” details in Article 7.04 that an educational campaign must be conducted every year, beginning on Nov. 15, to promote the prohibition of celebratory gunfire and the consequences of engaging in it.

Since 2001, some five people have died as a result of stray bullets during New Year’s Eve celebrations, while 93 others have suffered some type of injury.