Crackling explosions or singular pops: How to tell the difference between fireworks and gunshots

Claire Thornton, USA TODAY
·2 min read

Hours after a shooting spree at a Chicago-area parade, anxiety and confusion gripped Fourth of July celebrations nationwide Monday as some would-be celebrators confused the boom of fireworks for gunshots.

Frightened crowds in Orlando mistook the sound of fireworks for gunfire, authorities said, and fled. Several people suffered minor injuries as a result of the chaos.

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, onlookers scrambled from a downtown area after police said juveniles threw firecrackers at the ground, causing panic, WHTM reported.

Experts say there are ways to tell whether a "bang" or a "boom" is a threat or a fireworks display.

"Fireworks, especially nowadays, are getting more complicated," said John Goodpaster, associate director of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis' Forensic and Investigative Sciences program. "They have crackling effects and all sorts of other stuff that would make the sound of a firework pretty distinguishable from a firearm."

You should listen for the following characteristics, Goodpaster said:

  • Crackling

  • A sporadic rhythm

  • A whistle before the pop

  • A sizzle

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What do fireworks sound like?

Modern fireworks are designed to include flashy sound effects in addition to explosive bangs. So if you hear multiple crackling or sizzling sounds, those are most likely fireworks, Goodpaster said.

What does a gunshot sound like?

The sound of gunfire is "a single sound" caused by the explosion of powder making a bullet blast out of the gun's barrel, Goodpaster said.

Gunfire will sound like "one blast per pull of a trigger," he said, so "you're not going to get a cacophony of different sounds."

Typically, people are more likely to confuse the sound of gunfire for fireworks rather than the other way around, said Goodpaster, whose career includes years researching explosives with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

People typically don't expect to hear gunfire in public, he said, so they can be quick to associate the sound with something they're more used to, like a car backfiring.

"That in some sense is more logical than somebody shooting a gun out in the middle of a city somewhere," he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gunshot vs. fireworks sounds: How to hear the difference