Getting a little pendantic I know but.

"Reckless homicide is the killing of another person by a reckless act. In some states, involuntary manslaughter committed by use of a motor vehicle is called reckless homicide. Laws governing reckless homicide vary by jurisdiction.

In general, "recklessly" means that a person acts recklessly with respect to circumstances surrounding the conduct or the result of the conduct when the person is aware of, but consciously disregards, a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that its disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the circumstances as viewed from the accused person's standpoint."

It would not be hard, in my opinion, to conclude that firing a weapon in the air is a reckless act.

Quote Originally Posted by MMI View Post
I don't know anything about the circumstances of the person killed by a bullet fired into the air some 3 km away, but in this country I think the coroner would have to return a verdict of accidental death.

I don't think he could say the man was unlawfully killed because there was no intention to kill, nor was it reasonably foreseeable that someone would be killed. I don't even think you could say that the shooter fired recklessly, without caring whether or not someone would be killed, because it would not be within anyone's reasonable contemplation that there could be someone standing precisely where the bullet would land, so far away.