This Is What Gunshots Sound Like

This Is What Gunshots Sound Like

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

This story includes audio designed to be listened to with headphones. The sounds are recordings of actual gunfire and fireworks.

Chicago residents who wonder whether they’re hearing gunshots or fireworks around Independence Day may be interested to know that even technology sometimes struggles to distinguish between the two. WBEZ recorded the sound of gunfire and the sound of fireworks to hear if they sound different.