NEW ORLEANS - A child was struck in the face by a falling bullet while watching fireworks from his backyard on New Year's Eve.

The boy's friends and family told WWLTV the incident happened around 10 p.m. Friday while 10-year-old Fabian Rivera was sitting on a swing set at his home in the New Orleans East area. 

"We was talking, he was looking at the sky. And then we heard like fireworks, and then he got off the swing and came crying with blood," said 10-year-old Diana Lopez, Fabian's close friend.

The sound of gunfire had mixed with the fireworks, and the two didn't immediately realize what happened.

"I was nervous because I didn’t think it was a shot at first. I thought it was fireworks," Lopez said.

Police later confirmed Fabian was struck by a bullet. The bullet hit Fabian near his mouth and through his neck, breaking two of his teeth. 

Fabian was taken to a hospital where doctors found that he miraculously suffered no major injuries. Days later, Fabian says he's "feeling good."

"If he was not looking at the sky he could die, because it could have gone through his head," Lopez said. "So he almost died from that."

Now, both children are pleading for people to think before firing their guns in the air. 

"You don’t have to shoot up, because it can come down and kill more kids," Fabian said.

No arrests have been made, but police are still investigating the incident.