Distant Gunshot Wounds
In distant wounds, the only marks on the target are those produced by the mechanical action of the bullet in perforating the skin. Figure 4.15 A Two contact wounds of chest with deposit of powder soot above the wound entrances B top view of .22 caliber starter pistol barrel with vent visible arrow . Figure 4.15 A Two contact wounds of chest with deposit of powder soot above the wound entrances B top view of .22 caliber starter pistol barrel with vent visible arrow .
Bloody Bodies and Bloody Scenes
Physical Activity Following Gunshot Wounds Wounds Seen in the Emergency Room Minimal Velocities Necessary to Perforate Skin Bullet Emboli Gunshot Wounds of the Brain Bone Chips Secondary Fractures of the Skull Shape of the Bullet Tracks Point of Lodgement of the Bullet Intrauterine Gunshot Wounds Lead Poisoning from Retained Bullets Location of Fatal Gunshot Wounds Behavior of Ammunition and Gunpowder in Fires Blunt-Force Injuries from Firearms Multiple Gunshot Wounds Through One Entrance...
Suicides Due to Handguns
The location of the self-inflicted wound varies depending on the type of the weapon, the sex of the victim, and whether the victim is right- or left-handed. In individuals who shoot themselves with handguns, the most common sites for the entrance wound are the head 81 , the chest 17 , and the abdomen 2 , in that order Table 14.1 . There is some difference by sex Table 14.1 in that a smaller percentage of women 72 shoot themselves in the head than do men 83.5 . Table 14.1 Sites of Suicidal...
i
Figure 7.22 A Fired Russian 7.62 x 39 soft-point bullet with plastic wad extruding from base. B Chest x-ray of individual shot six times in chest with this ammunition and showing lead snowstorm. Figure 7.22 A Fired Russian 7.62 x 39 soft-point bullet with plastic wad extruding from base. B Chest x-ray of individual shot six times in chest with this ammunition and showing lead snowstorm. The .223 Remington cartridge was introduced in the Armalite AR-15 rifle the precursor of the M-16 in 1957. It...
I 1
Figure 14.5 Lacerations of palm and fifth finger from gas escaping from cylinder gap of .357 Magnum revolver. Hand was around cylinder at time of discharge. producing a wound of the forehead that had all the characteristics of a primary contact wound Figure 14.6 . In the head, the most common site for a handgun entrance wound is the temple. Although most right-handed individuals shoot themselves in the right temple and left-handed individuals in the left temple, this pattern is not absolute. In...
Discharge of a Weapon
Now that we have attained a basic knowledge of firearms and ammunition, let us consider the sequence of events that occurs when one brings the two elements together. Pulling the trigger causes release of the firing pin. This strikes the primer, crushing it, igniting the primer composition, and producing an intense flame. The flame enters the main chamber of the cartridge case through one or more vents, igniting the powder and producing a large quantity of gas and heat. This gas, which may be...
IntermediateRange Wounds 1
An intermediate-range gunshot wound is one in which the muzzle of the weapon is away from the body at the time of discharge yet is sufficiently close so that powder grains emerging from the muzzle strike the skin producing powder tattooing this is the sine qua non of intermediate-range gunshot wounds. In addition to the powder tattooing, there may be blackening of the skin or material around the entrance site from soot produced by combustion of the propellant. The size and density of the area...
Wounds from Shotguns
Wounds Due to Slugs Wound Ballistics of the Shotgun Shotgun Wounds Contact Wounds of the Head Intermediate and Close-Range Wounds of the Head Contact Wounds of the Trunk Intermediate Range Wounds of the Body Distant Wounds Wounds from Buckshot Pellet Holes in Window Screens Sawed-Off Shotguns Shotgun Diverters Automatic Ejection of Fired Hulls Miscellaneous Notes on Shotgun Shell Miscellaneous Shotgun Ammunition References
Intermediary Targets 1
If a centerfire rifle bullet passes through an intermediary target, such as a wall or door, before striking an individual, the severity of the wound produced may be much greater than if the same bullet had not perforated the target. If the intermediary target is of sufficient thickness and resistance, the bullet will destabilize be deformed or even break up. Such a bullet when it strikes the victim will more readily lose kinetic energy, thus, possibly increasing the severity of the wound. This...
Wounds from Caliber Rimfire Weapons 1
The most popular and most commonly fired cartridge in the United States is the .22 rimfire. It is estimated that over 2.2 billion rounds of this ammunition are produced each year in the United States. There are four types of .22 rimfire ammunition the .22 Short, the .22 Long, the .22 Long Rifle and the .22 Winchester Magnum rimfire Figure 6.1 . The Flobert BB cap was the ancestor of the .22 rimfire cartridge. It was developed in 1845 by necking down a percussion cap and inserting a lead ball....
Frangible Bullets
Centerfire handgun ammunition, and to a lesser degree rifle ammunition, loaded with frangible bullets are now produced by all major ammunition manufacturers. The bullets are constructed of various materials depending on the manufacturer copper powder compressed under high pressure copper with a polymer binding agent powdered tungsten, copper and a nylon matrix twisted strands of zinc and powdered iron encased in an electroplated jacket. Kaplan et al. tested frangible ammunition composed of...
Interchangeability of Ammunition in Weapons
Recovery of a bullet of a particular caliber from a body does not necessarily indicate that the weapon used to fire this missile was of the same caliber as the cartridge in which the bullet was loaded. Certain weapons will chamber and fire ammunition of a caliber different from that for which they are chambered. Some automatic pistols are capable of firing revolver ammunition, and some revolvers can fire automatic ammunition. The .32-caliber revolver is well known for its ability to chamber and...
Guns Found in the Hand
Garavaglia and Talkington studied 498 cases of suicide from gunshot wounds 365 from handguns and 133 from long arms to determine in how many cases the weapon remained in the hand and what factors, if any, predisposed to this.6 They found that in 24.1 120 of the 498 cases, the gun was in the hand in 69 344 on or touching the body or within one foot of it, and in 7 34 of the cases greater than a foot away. Of the 34 guns more than a foot from the body, four 4 were long guns 3 of all long guns and...
ACP x SR
The .32 ACP was introduced in 1899 by Fabriqu Nationale for the first successful semiautomatic pistol ever manufactured. It is used extensively in Figure 5.20 Entrance wound of back showing absence of abrasion ring. The bullet was a semi-jacketed .357 Magnum. Figure 5.20 Entrance wound of back showing absence of abrasion ring. The bullet was a semi-jacketed .357 Magnum. Europe. Czechoslovakia manufactured a submachine gun for it, the Scorpion. The cartridge is semirimmed and will chamber and...
Behavior of Ammunition and Gunpowder in Fires
Occasionally a story appears in a newspaper describing how fire fighters fought a blaze in a sporting goods store as bullets from exploding ammunition whizzed by and cans of gunpowder exploded around them. Although this type of story makes fine newspaper copy, it bears no relation to what actually happens in a fire involving ammunition and gunpowder. Smokeless powder is used in all modern cartridges. When it is ignited in a gun, heat, and gas are produced, both of which are confined initially...
Backspatter
Backspatter is the ejection of blood and tissue from a gunshot wound of entrance. While blood and tissue are often ejected from exit wounds, this is not the case for entrance wounds. The occurrence and degree of backspatter depends on the anatomical location of the wound, the range and the caliber of the weapon. A contact wound of the head from a large-caliber weapon is more likely to produce backspatter than a distant wound of the torso from a small-caliber weapon. Backspatter is important...
New Forms of Handgun Ammunition
Up to the mid 1960s, commercial handgun bullet design had not changed since the early 1900s. Handgun bullets were either full metal-jacketed or all lead. Lead bullets were roundnose or, less commonly, wadcutter or semi-wadcutter. Recovery of a full metal-jacketed bullet meant that the individual had been shot with an automatic pistol an all-lead bullet of medium or large caliber indicated a revolver a small lead bullet a .22. The 1960s saw the introduction of semi-jacketed soft-point and...
References 1
1. Mathews, J. H. Firearms Identification 3 vol . Springfield, IL Charles C. Thomas 1972. 2. Ward, M. E., Conradi, S., Lawrence, C. H., and Nolte, K. B. Inappropriate use of .38 Special ammunition in .30-30 rifles, J. Forensic Sci. 39 5 1175-1181, 1994. 3. Smith, O. C., Jantz, L., Berryman, H. E., and Symes S. A. Effects of human decomposition on bullet striations. J. Forensic Sci. 38 3 593-598, 1993. 4. Krcma, V. Fluted and annular grooved barrel chambers in firearms. J. Forensic Sci. 41 3...
Gunshot Wounds Through Clothing
In gunshot wound cases, examination of the clothing is often as important as examination of the body. The interposing of clothing between the muzzle of the gun and the skin can alter the appearance of close-range gunshot wounds of the body. Clothing can prevent soot or powder, either completely or in part, from reaching the skin as well as producing a redistribution of this powder and soot. In hard contact wounds of the body, where soot and powder ordinarily would be driven completely into the...
Assault Rifles
The term Assault Rifle refers to an auto-loading rifle having a large capacity 20 rounds or more detachable magazine, capable of full automatic fire and firing an intermediate rifle cartridge. This term has been corrupted by the media, politicians and the bureaucracy to include virtually all self-loading weapons that look ugly and or mean. Weapons that fire pistol ammunition, e.g., Intratec Tec-9's, Cobray M-11's, are not assault rifles by virtue of their firing pistol ammunition and that they...
Distant Wounds
In distant gunshot wounds, the muzzle of the weapon is sufficiently far from the body so that there is neither deposition of soot nor powder tattooing. For centerfire handguns, distant gunshot wounds begin beyond 24 in. 60 cm from muzzle to target for cartridges loaded with flake powder and beyond 42 in. 105 cm for cartridges loaded with ball powder. The exact range depends on the particular weapon and ammunition and can be determined exactly only by experimentation with the specific weapon and...
An Introduction to the Classification of Gunshot Wounds
Contact Wounds Near-Contact Wounds Intermediate-Range Wounds Cylinder Gap Silencers Muzzle Brakes Compensators Flash Suppressors Gas Ports Vents Miscellaneous Powder Patterns Distant Gunshot Wounds Entrance Versus Exit Wounds Entrance Wounds Exit Wounds Miscellaneous Entrance Wounds Intermediary Targets Stippling Powder Tattooing and Pseudo-Powder Tattooing Caliber Determination from Entrance Wounds
The Forensic Autopsy in Gunshot Wound Cases
The forensic autopsy differs from the hospital autopsy in its objectives and relevance. In addition to determining the cause of death, the forensic pathologist must establish the manner of death natural, accidental, suicidal, homicidal or undetermined , the identity of the deceased if unknown, and the time of death or injury. The forensic autopsy may involve collection of evidence from the body, which can be used to either incriminate or exonerate an individual charged with a crime determine...
Physical Activity Following Gunshot Wounds
An individual may sustain a fatal gunshot wound and yet engage in physical activity.1-2 Experienced forensic pathologists, not uncommonly, encounter cases in which an individual, after incurring a fatal gunshot wound of the heart, is able to walk or run hundreds of yards and engage in strenuous physical activity prior to collapse and death. In one case seen by the author, a young man was shot in the left chest at a range of 3 to 4 ft with a 12-gauge shotgun firing 7 1 2 shot. The pellets...
Ab 1
Figure 12.3 Contact wound of body through two layers of cloth. Note the appearance of the wound in chest, which simulates a loose contact. Figure 12.3 Contact wound of body through two layers of cloth. Note the appearance of the wound in chest, which simulates a loose contact. Complete absorption of the soot and powder by clothing can occur in what ordinarily would be called an intermediate range wound. The resultant absence of powder tattooing on the skin results in an intermediate-range wound...
Contact Wounds
In contact wounds, the muzzle of the weapon is held against the surface of the body at the time of discharge. Contact wounds may be hard, loose, angled, or incomplete a variation of angled . Hard-Contact Wounds. In hard-contact wounds, the muzzle of the weapon is jammed hard against the skin, indenting it, so that the skin envelops the muzzle. In hard contact wounds, the immediate edges of the entrance are seared by the hot gases of combustion and blackened by the soot Figure 4.1 . This soot is...
Cytology on Bullets and Clothing
If a bullet passes through a body or intermediary target, or ricochets off a hard surface, fragments of tissue or target material may adhere to or be imbedded in the bullet. If the bullet is a hollow point, a relatively large wad of this material may be deposited in the cavity. Recovery and identification of foreign material from a bullet may identify the organs or intermediary object perforated or prove that the bullet was a ricochet. Nonorganic material, such as aluminum from a window screen...
Foreword 1
This Second Edition of Gunshot Wounds Practical Aspects of Firearms, Ballistics, and Forensic Techniques, written by Vincent J. M. Di Maio, M.D. has been greatly expanded to include over 78 new photographs with references and discussions not covered in the original text. Dr. Di Maio has taken his personal observations, experience and research of gunshot wounds and firearms to create an extremely practical hands-on guide. Guns continue to be the most frequently used weapons in murder and...
ReactionResponse Times in Handgun Shootings
Sooner or later a medical examiner will become involved in a shooting where an individual claims to have shot at another individual facing them but, at autopsy, the gunshot wound is found to be in the side or back. The question then arises as to whether the victim, on seeing the gun pointed towards them, or reacting to another outside stimulus, would have had sufficient time to turn 90 to 180 degrees in the time from when the shooter initiated the shooting process and the bullet hit. Cases such...
Sympathetic Discharge of Rimfire Firearms
In cheap .22 rimfire revolvers, sympathetic discharges may occur on firing. Sympathetic discharge occurs when, on firing a revolver, there is not only discharge of the cartridge stuck by the firing pin but also of a cartridge in an adjacent chamber. Such multiple discharges were quite common in percussion revolvers when a spark from a discharging round would ignite the black powder in other cylinders. In sympathetic discharge of .22 rimfire revolvers, discharge of a cartridge by the firing pin...
An Introduction to the Classification of Gunshot Wounds 1
There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at without result. Gunshot wounds are either penetrating or perforating. Penetrating wounds occur when a bullet enters an object and does not exit in perforating wounds, the bullet passes completely through the object. A wound, however, can be both penetrating and perforating. A bullet striking the head may pass through the skull and brain before coming to rest under the scalp, thus producing a penetrating wound of the head, but a perforating...
References Wcj
1. Cowman, M. E. and Purdon, P. L. A study of the paraffin test. J. Forensic Sci. 12 1 19-35, 1967. 2. Harrison, H. C. and Gilroy, R. Firearms discharge residues. J. Forensic Sci. 4 2 184-199, 1959. 3. Krishnan, S. S. Detection of gunshot residue on the hands by neutron activation and atomic absorption analysis. J. Forensic Sci. 19 4 789-797, 1974. 4. Stone, I. C. and Petty, C. S. Examination of gunshot residues. J. Forensic Sci. 19 4 784-788, 1974. 5. Wolten, G. M., Nesbitt, Calloway, A. R.,...
Wounds Seen in The Emergency Room
It is quite common for a pathologist at autopsy to discover gunshot wounds missed by the police at the scene or physicians in an emergency room. Emergency room physicians often miss head wounds because of long hair and back wounds because they fail to look at the patient's back. They also confuse entrances with exits. In a study of 46 cases of fatal multiple or exiting gunshot wounds by Collins and Lantz, 24 52.2 were misinterpreted by trauma specialists emergency medicine, trauma surgery and...
Blank Cartridge Injuries
A blank is a cartridge containing powder but no bullets or pellets. It is intended to produce noise. Blanks are generally loaded with ultra-fast burning powder that detonates rather than burns. The case itself may appear like any other case in this caliber or may have a rosette crimped end. The wad can cause injury to a person immediately in front of the gun. If the wad is removed and a bullet is substituted, pressure generated by the ultra-fast burning powder will explode the gun. A number of...
Caliber Determination from Entrance Wounds
The caliber of the bullet that caused an entrance wound in the skin cannot be determined by the diameter of the entrance. A .38-caliber 9-mm bullet can produce a hole having the diameter of a .32 caliber 7.65-mm bullet and vice versa. The size of the hole is due not only to the diameter of the bullet but also to the elasticity of the skin and the location of the wound. An entrance wound in an area where the skin is tightly stretched will have a diameter different from that of a wound in an area...
Suicides in General
Suicides in which multiple gunshot wounds are present are uncommon, but not rare. These wounds may involve only one area, e.g., the head, or multiple areas, such as the head and chest. Multiple gunshot wounds confined exclusively to the head are the least common, whereas those of the chest are the most common. A lack of knowledge of anatomy, flinching at the time the trigger is pulled, defective ammunition, ammunition of the wrong caliber, or just missing a vital organ, account for such...
M. Fackler Wound Ballistic 2011
1. French, R. W. and Callendar, G. R. Ballistic characteristics of wounding agents. In Beyer, J.C. ed , Wound Ballistics, Washington, D.C. Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1962. 2. Callender, G. R. and French, R. W. Wound ballistics studies in the mechanism of wound production by rifle bullets. Mil. Surg. 77 177-201, 1935. 3. Fackler, M. L Wound Ballistics A Review of Common Misconceptions. JAMA 259 18 2730-2736, 1988. 4. Amato, J. J. Billy, L. J., Lawson, N. S.,...
Correct Handling of Deaths from Firearms 1
The correct handling of a death from gunshot wounds begins at the scene. Here valuable evidence on the body can be lost or altered and bogus evidence may be inadvertently introduced through mishandling of the body. Before a body is touched, let alone examined, its position and appearance should be documented photographically and diagrammatically. The most important rule at the scene is to handle the body as little as possible so as not to dislodge trace evidence that may be clinging to garments...
Bullet Wipe
Bullet holes of entrance in the skin may have a gray coloration to the abrasion ring. This gray rim around the entrance is very common, and more prominent, in clothing, where it is called bullet wipe see Chapter 12 . Bullet wipe consists principally of soot, deposited on the surface of the bullet as it moves down the barrel, which is rubbed off the bullet by the skin or clothing as it penetrates the body. In the case of revolver bullets, some of this material may be lubricant as well. Bullet...
Accidental Deaths from Firearms
In order to decide whether a death from gunshot wound is an accident, one should know the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the death who was present, the findings at the scene, the type of weapon, the result of an examination of the weapon by a firearms examiner, the findings at autopsy, and the results of the toxicology study. The number of deaths in the U.S. from accidental gunshot wounds has steadily declined since 1970. In 1970, there were 2406 such cases in 1992, 1409.1 Even...
Bullet Emboli
Vascular embolization of a bullet is an uncommon occurrence. When it does occur, it usually involves the arterial system. Embolization should be suspected whenever there is a penetrating bullet wound with failure to discover the bullet in the expected region or to visualize the bullet on routine x-ray.9 In the author's first encounter with a case of bullet embolization, he spent seven hours looking for a bullet in the chest and abdomen, when it was in the femoral artery there was no x-ray...
Info Vhd
X-rays are invaluable in the evaluation of gunshot wounds. They should be taken in all gunshot wound cases, especially those in which there appears to be an exit wound. X-rays are useful for a variety of reasons 1. To see whether the bullet or any part of it is still in the body. 3. To locate for retrieval small fragments deposited in the body by a bullet that has exited. 4. To identify the type of ammunition or weapon used prior to autopsy or to make such an identification if it cannot be made...
Cartridge Cases
Examination of a fired cartridge case may make possible the identification of a weapon in terms of type, make, and model. The presence of magazine markings, the type of breech-block mark, and the size, shape, and location of ejector and extractor marks are important imprints in making such identification. The size, shape, and location of the firing pin on fired rimfire cartridge cases can also be used to determine the make of the weapon. The appearance of the firing pin imprint from centerfire...
Ammunition Myths and Facts
In the 1970s, a major controversy over the use of hollow-point handgun ammunition by police agencies erupted. The arguments against the use of this ammunition were generally emotional, with claims of mutilating wounds and organs reduced to unidentifiable chopped meat. Most of the arguments heard for and against the use of hollow-point handgun ammunition were based on myths, false assumptions, and second-hand stories spread by both opponents and proponents of this type of ammunition. From the...
Comparison of Bullets
When a gun is discharged, the bullet is forced down the barrel by the gases of combustion. Both class and individual characteristics are imparted to the bullet, whether it is lead or jacketed. Because lead is softer, one might postulate that bullet markings on lead bullets are more distinctive than those found on jacketed bullets. In actual practice, markings on the jacketed bullets are usually superior, because the jacket of harder metal is less likely to have the rifling marks wiped off by...
Centerfire Rifle Bullets
Centerfire rifle bullets differ in construction from handgun bullets in that rifle bullets have to have either full or partial metal jacketing. This is necessary because of the high velocities at which rifle bullets are propelled down a barrel. If the bullets were lead or lead alloy, these high velocities would result in the lead being stripped from the surface of the bullet by the rifling grooves. Some handloaders will load centerfire rifle cartridges with cast lead bullets. In such cases,...
Cylinder Gap
When a revolver is fired, gas, soot, and powder emerge not only from the end of the muzzle but also from the gap between the cylinder and the barrel see Figure 2.11 . This material emerges, fan-like, at an approximate right angle to the long axis of the weapon. If the revolver is in close proximity to the body at the time of discharge, there may be searing of the skin, deposition of soot or even powder tattooing from gas and powder escaping from the cylinder gap. The tattooing will be...
Suicide by Firearms 1
The most common method of committing suicide in the United States is by shooting. Approximately 65 of men committing suicide use firearms, with the remainder of the deaths almost equally divided between drug overdoses and hanging. Traditionally, the preferred method used by women was an overdose of drugs. Since the mid-1980s, however, use of firearms has become the most popular method of suicide in women.1 In 1970, in the United States, 30 of women shot themselves and 48 took an overdose of...
Location of Fatal Gunshot Wounds
There have been no extensive civilian studies to show the location of fatal gunshot wounds in the body in non-suicide cases. The U.S. Army has conducted a number of studies involving combat casualties.21-23 The most recent one, and probably the most applicable in view of changes in medical therapy, was the WDMET study from the Vietnam war.21 This study found that, although the head and neck constituted only 6.5 of the body surface, wounds of this region accounted for37.2 of fatalgunshot wounds....
SawedOff Shotguns
Test firings, by the author, of sawed-off shotguns at ranges of 21 ft or less revealed that decreasing the barrel length of a cylinder-bore shotgun has no significant effect on the size of the pattern until the barrel has been sawed off to less than 9 in. At this point, the patterns begin to open up significantly. Moreau et al. found that with birdshot, as the barrel length decreased, any change in the size of the pattern produced depended on the brand of ammunition. Patterns either did not...