Tandem Bullet Homicide

Prahlow, Samuel P; Wolfenbarger, Ray; Prahlow, Joseph A.

doi:10.23907/2016.014

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…When assessing a gunshot wound, a discrepant number of skin defects to counted projectiles may represent the involvement of an intermediate target. In Prahlow et al’s case report, discrepancies can be explained by two types of scenarios: situations with unaccounted for projectiles and situations in which there are too many projectiles (or exit wounds) [3]. On our initial external examination, the identification of a single entrance wound without an exit wound and scattered abrasions suggested the presence of unaccounted for projectiles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

A pen as an intermediate target becomes a secondary projectile

Jimenez

Giffen

2021

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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The phenomenon of intermediate targets becoming secondary projectiles in gunshot wound cases has been well described in the literature [1,2]. However, cases involving intermediate targets within gun barrels are a rarity. When a bullet strikes a non-resistant intermediate target, assuming the main mass of the bullet is intact, it produces a single entrance wound with fragments of the intermediary target scattered around or within the entry wound. | C A SEThe case involves a 16-year-old man and his father, who was manipulating a 0.40 semiautomatic handgun to demonstrate how the weapon worked. The father had placed an ink pen in the barrel of the firearm and pulled the trigger to demonstrate how the firing pin worked, ejecting the pen out of the barrel. The son saw this and asked his father to launch the pen once again. The father placed the pen in the barrel and then pulled the slide back to reset the firing pin, unknowingly loading a bullet into the chamber. The weapon was discharged causing fatal injury to his son. The entire encounter was captured on in-home security cameras. | Autopsy findingsAutopsy findings revealed a single entrance wound in the left chest where a fully jacketed, mildly deformed 0.40 bullet was retrieved from the decedent's back. The wound track perforated the left ventricle of the heart, inferior left pulmonary vein, esophagus, and right pulmonary hilum and bronchus. Over the left abdomen, multiple scattered superficial abrasions were present along with a 7 × 1.5 cm Y-shaped patterned abrasion with central clearing of the

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

A pen as an intermediate target becomes a secondary projectile

Jimenez

Giffen

2021

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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“…A variety of potential explanations may account for a discrepancy when attempting to account for the number of entry and exit wounds, the number of projectiles accounted for at the scene of the shooting, and the number of projectiles evident on radiographic examination. A recent review provides a relatively complete list of the various situations and possible explanations for when such a discrepancy exists (19). If there is any discrepancy between the number of entry and exit wounds, or if the clinical signs and radiographic imaging do not correlate with the injuries, suspected bullet embolism should be one of Image 8: The decomposed body of the man from Case 3, after being removed from the water.…”

Section: Case Of the Monthmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Case Series of Anterograde and Retrograde Vascular Projectile Embolization

Chao

Barnard²,

deJong

et al. 2018

Academic Forensic Pathology

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Deaths related to firearms are common within the United States, with most cases having conspicuous projectile wounds found at autopsy. Individual gunshot wounds may be perforating or penetrating. In most cases with penetrating wounds, projectiles are relatively easily found via radiography and by following the pathway on internal examination. When a projectile is not detected in the expected region, intravascular embolization of the projectile should be suspected. Embolization may be arterial or venous, as well as anterograde or retrograde. Typically, such emboli involve small caliber bullets or shot pellets. The authors present three unusual cases of intravascular projectile embolization at autopsy, one involving shotgun slug fragment embolization, one where death was delayed, and one with retrograde embolization into the liver.

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“…The bullet rule states that the sum of the number of bullet wounds on the skin surface (entrances and exits) and the number of projectiles detected in imaging studies should always be an even number [1, 2]. Various situations may explain why the bullet rule may be broken [3, 4]. Whether or not forensic pathologists use the “bullet rule,” they are well aware that, in certain gunshot wound cases, the identification of entrance versus exit versus other injury types and accounting for all projectiles can present a challenge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cutaneous skin defects overlying tangential gunshot wounds: A case series

Nickson,

DeJong,

Brooks

et al. 2023

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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In examining deaths resulting from gunshot wounds, it is important to describe the wound pathway created by the projectile. Forensic pathologists must identify all entrance and exit wounds and account for all projectiles. Occasionally, confusion arises as to whether a skin defect represents an entrance wound or not, an exit wound, or some other type of wound. Herein, we propose the descriptor “bullet track skin defect” as a formal description for a superficial skin defect created along the pathway of a projectile within the body. Specifically, we define the “bullet track skin defect” as a partial‐ or full‐thickness skin defect produced by a projectile traveling beneath the skin in a relatively tangential fashion as part of a wound pathway within the body. It is somewhat analogous to a traditional graze or superficial tangential wound, wherein the projectile traveling outside the body strikes the skin tangentially from above, without entering the body. However, the projectile is already traveling within the body with the bullet track skin defect, disrupting the skin tangentially from below rather than from above, without exiting the body. Although these defects are not a common presentation of gunshot wounds, they are certainly not rare. With this case series, we suggest that such defects may be referred to as “bullet track skin defects.” Alternative language that can substitute for “bullet track skin defects” includes “bullet track skin wounds” or “bullet track cutaneous defects.”

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Tandem Bullet Homicide

Cited by 8 publications

References 30 publications

A pen as an intermediate target becomes a secondary projectile

A pen as an intermediate target becomes a secondary projectile

A Case Series of Anterograde and Retrograde Vascular Projectile Embolization

Cutaneous skin defects overlying tangential gunshot wounds: A case series

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