LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas police say they issued 50 citations and arrested one person for using illegal fireworks on July Fourth.
Metro Police Capt. Todd Raybuck said at a press conference Thursday afternoon that the department was only able to issue citations on a fraction of the 25,000 reports officials received of illegal fireworks.
Raybuck says each call takes "a tremendous amount of time" to investigate and police have to be dispatched because it can be difficult to distinguish the sound of fireworks from gunfire.
Police had urged residents to make reports through a website ISpyFireworks.com instead of calling 911.
But Raybuck says more fireworks calls came in to 911 this year than last year.
He says more work has to be done to get the community to stop tolerating illegal fireworks.