Holyoke native hit by stray bullet on New Year's Eve

ST. PETERSBURG, Fl. (WHDH) -- A Massachusetts native rang in the New Year in the hospital after she was struck by a stray bullet.

She was watching a fireworks show in Florida when she was hit by some of the celebratory gunfire.

"It was really close to killing me, and it was just - I just couldn't believe I'd been shot,” said Laurie Eberhardt.

Laurie Eberhardt was still in shock. Along with her husband and some friends, Eberhardy was watching the fireworks from the Saint Pete Yacht Club, then all of a sudden, she was struck by a bullet in her right wrist.

"I went into survival mode. I just went into, you know, I need help here, I need to stop this bleeding,” said Eberhardt.

Her friends put ice and pressure on the wound until emergency crews arrived. Her husband, Henry Eberhardt, was by her side.

Eberhardt said she was scared, very frightened.

“You can imagine what was going through my mind. At first, I don't believe this is happening. I know it's happening, but I'm trying to process it,” said Eberheardt.

She had no broken bones or serious damage, but for police, the investigation is just beginning. They said it was the result of celebratory gunfire from some distance away.

"This is obviously a very dangerous practice. It's resulted in very serious injuries and in some cases, it's resulted in death,” said Mike Puetz of St. Petersburg, Florida Police.

"There are other ways to celebrate than firing a weapon into the sky,” said Henry Eberhardt, “just be really responsible, you shoot up in the air it is going to come down on something or someone."

According to the Tampa Bay Times, Laurie and her husband are retirees who moved to St. Petersburg from the Holyoke area a year ago.