Teen in moving car shot firework at police cruiser with cop inside, Kentucky cops say

During Independence Day festivities in a Kentucky town, an occupied police cruiser was shot at with a firework, leading to one arrest and two citations, police said.

An officer in Paducah noticed a moving vehicle shooting fireworks out its window at about 11 p.m. July 4, according to a police news release.

The vehicle then launched a firework at the officer’s marked cruiser, according to a police citation. It’s not clear if the firework struck the cruiser.

The officer pulled the vehicle over and noticed a backseat passenger, identified as a 16-year-old boy, had a lighter and fireworks in his lap, police said. A handgun was later spotted protruding from his waistband, according to the citation.

“The odor of burnt marijuana was coming from inside the vehicle,” the officer wrote in his citation, adding “an open alcoholic beverage was located inside the middle console.”

The driver, a 21-year-old woman, did not have insurance, and the vehicle was towed, police said. Afterward, police said she became angry and clenched her fist, appearing as though she might strike the officer.

She was arrested and charged with menacing and possession of an open alcoholic beverage, among other charges. She was booked in a county jail.

The 16-year-old boy was cited for violating firework ordinances and possessing a handgun — his second weapons citation in several months. A third passenger, a 19-year-old woman, was cited for marijuana possession and violating firework ordinances.

Paducah is about 200 miles southwest of Louisville.

This story was originally published July 6, 2023 at 11:35 AM with the headline "Teen in moving car shot firework at police cruiser with cop inside, Kentucky cops say."