'We were so scared:' July Fourth gunfire injures Durham teen, frightens neighborhood

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- A teenage girl is in the hospital after witnesses said she was hit by a stray gunshot from a July Fourth celebration that went too far.

Durham Police investigators on Friday visited the neighborhood on Hearthside Road on the city's south side and found the 15-year-old victim with a bandage on her back; witnesses told police someone fired several celebratory gunshots in the air and they think the girl was hit when one of them came back down.

"It's a scary feeling," Lorena Morelos, the victim's friend and neighbor told ABC11. "I was scared there were lots of bullets and they were close to the house."

Morelos said everyone was outside watching fireworks when the gunfire started. She quickly rushed her own children inside.

"First, we all got down on the floor because we were scared a bullet might enter the house. We all held close together so the kids wouldn't be scared."

Durham City Ordinance forbids gun owners to discharge their weapons without prior authorization except for in self-defense.

The penalty for the offense could be a fine of up to $500.