MACON, Ga. — On New Year's Eve, you may have heard loud noises or fireworks ringing in 2024.
And last week, the Bibb County Sheriff's Office warned people about the dangers of celebratory gunfire during the night.
Russell Dudley lives in south Macon and never thought it would affect him.
"Never worried about anything in this neighborhood. Sometimes, I got to sleep, my car door's unlocked. My trunk is left open, my neighbor will come close the trunk for me," he said.
On Sunday, he left his home around 10 p.m. About three and a half hours later, he came back home and went straight to bed. He didn't notice anything unusual until later that morning when he woke up.
"And I said that's a giant spider on my ceiling. So I walked up to see what that actually was and I noticed it was a giant hole," Dudley said.
Parts of the roof came down on his couch, and the bullet landed right next to it on the floor.
"I just imagined if my kids was here because my youngest, she likes to stand right here and play with her toys. And it just shook me at that point," he said.
His three kids were at their mom's house that night, but they normally hang out in his living room to watch T.V. and spend quality time together.
"What goes up, must come down. So if you shoot a bullet in the air, it has to come down. But if it comes down and hits somebody, that person is hit, now they may go up cause that could've easily been a fatality," Dudley said.
He said he's made calls to get his roof fixed soon. He has this message for whoever shot that bullet.
"I you wanna shoot your gun for Fourth of July, New Year- by all means do so, but do it in a safe environment. You know, go into the woods," Dudley said.
After he noticed the bullet on Monday morning, he said he called 911 to report the crime.
He said law enforcement took the bullet to run forensics on it.
The Bibb County Sheriff's Office said if someone finds themselves in a similar situation and there's no imminent threat, people should call their non-emergency number.
They also said it's important to not move any possible evidence until law enforcement gets there.