RICHMOND -- Police say they will deploy officers for the July 4 holiday in areas of the city that have generated the most ShotSpotter reports in recent months and on last year's Independence Day, in an attempt to stop both illegal gunfire and illegal fireworks use.

The ShotSpotter system provides near-immediate gunshot location data to police, allowing them to respond quickly to the location of gunfire. Officers will respond to all system activations, police say, arresting anyone caught discharging a firearm in public.

The system is capable of distinguishing between gunshots and fireworks, allowing police to focus first on gunfire incidents. Bullets fired into the air in celebration, police say, will, of course, come back down at some point, risking countless live.

Contact Daniel M. Jimenez at 510-262-2728. Follow him at Twitter.com/DMJreports.