I agree with all who say that shooting in the air for some kind of celebration is just plain stupid. People would always look to us dumb Cherokee Hillbillies and think we did nonsense such as that all the time. Never had it happen around our place.

Was it possible that the shot was a riccochet from a hunter? If so, this person definately was not practicing good range of safety skills.
That rule was drilled into me as if someone took a drill to my head and poured the rule in. NEVER shoot unless you have a clear line of sight. It only takes one misstep with firearms to have a possible fatal result.