ABC13.com

As investigators look into whether celebratory gunfire truly led to a family matriarch's death during a New Year's celebration, a former Houston police investigator said the ballistics of the case will be key in looking for the shooter. Philippa Ashford, 61, died while she watched her family and others celebrate 2020 outdoors in the Laurel Oaks subdivision in north Harris County. Typically, celebratory gunfire cases are difficult to solve, but not impossible, according to former longtime HPD officer Mark Stephens. He said the projectile that investigators recover will be entered in the ATF's National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN. It will be compared to other bullets and firearms already entered. Amid the investigation early Wednesday, officials went from house to house looking for shell casings and talking to residents in an effort to identify the origin of the gunshot.