comment: >
  
  A 9mm is probably going to shoot at a maximum of around 4000 feet.  A far cry of the height here.  As well a hand gun's bullets are a bit less stable than a rifle and that roughly 4000 is a perfect system weight / energy calculation.  Probably not over 1500 feet altitude with instability and angle being much less than 90 degrees.
context: Funniest line / most realistic part from Independence Day: a quick pan across a TV newscast announcing "Police are once again asking residents not to shoot at the alien aircraft." >
  
  if I recall the graphic was a hand gun too. Like that's gonna make it up there.