Air guns: toys or weapons?

Air guns and blank guns may appear relatively harmless at first glance, but they are, in fact, potentially destructive, even lethal, weapons. Approximately 2 to 2.5 million nonpowder firearms are sold annually, and again approximately 12.9 per 100,000 population are treated for such injuries in hospital emergency departments each year in the United States. Unfortunately, these guns are considered to be a toy for children. Therefore, incidents of air gun injuries are gradually increasing. Although such injuries may initially be considered trivial, it may signify severe internal tissue pathologies. These apparently trivial injuries may have catastrophic consequences if unnoticed. In this study, we report 4 cases with head injury due to a shot by these guns. The cases indicate that these people had used the guns belonging to their parents for the purpose of suicide. The cases also show that these machines are not innocent.     

Evaluation of injuries features inflicted by shots from gas guns by emission spectral analysis

The authors describe a methodological approach to emission spectral analysis of material evidences aimed at evaluating the regularities of deposition of the shot metals at the site of injuries inflicted by gas guns. Injuries inflicted by gunshots with chemical cartridges and with shot cartridges, with and without obstructions, from different distances have been examined. The detected regularities may be useful in forensic medical expert evaluations by means of emission spectral analysis in cases with gas gunshots.     

The use of emission spectrum analysis in the forensic medical expertise of gunshot wounds (experimental research)

Presents the methodology of experimental shots from various guns (n = 11) by common cartridges and of emission spectral analysis (ESA) which was used to study the regularities in deposition of "gunshot metals" at the site of gunshot injuries and to detect the characteristic differences in shooting with and without obstacles. Effects of some factors on deposition of metal components of gunshot products at the site of gunshot injuries are studied: type of gun, shell (with/without coating or semicoated), presence of obstacles, distance, and order of the shot. Results of studies are presented for some guns, which may be useful in forensic medical expert evaluations by means of ESA.     

Fatal head injuries from firearms. An autopsy study of 270 cases

Autopsy findings in 270 fatal head injuries from firearms are reported, including 243 suicides and 27 homicides. The most frequent weapon used for both groups were shot guns which are easily available in Norway. For suicides the most favored sites were right tempoparietal, frontal, and mouth. Twenty-six percent of the victims from homicides had multiple wounds in their head. Suicide by firearms showed marked male predominance, whereas the sex ratio for homicide was rather equal between the two sexes.     

Patterned imprint mark due to the folded shoulder stock: A possible finding in contact shots from submachine guns

The muzzle imprint (barrel mark) is a pressure abrasion typically associated with contact shots. Apart from the contours of the actual muzzle profile, other constructional parts such as the front sight and/or the recoil spring guide of semiautomatic pistols may be imprinted next to the bullet entrance wound. In some types of submachine guns the shoulder stock can be folded forward so that its end partly encircles the muzzle. If such a weapon was in contact with the skin at the instant of discharge, a corresponding contusion mark is to be expected. The imprint configuration may point to the type of weapon and to the way in which the gun had been held when firing the shot. The paper presents the injury pattern in a 36-year-old man who committed suicide with a Scorpion SA Vz 61 submachine gun cal. 7.65 mm Browning from former Czechoslovakia.     

Packing Heat: Attitudes Regarding Concealed Weapons on College Campuses

Gun violence at American colleges and universities has rekindled the debate surrounding concealed weapons on campus. This study examined college student and faculty opinions on two college campuses, focusing on their attitudes towards private citizens carrying concealed guns on campus. Data were collected during the fall 2008 and spring 2009, and over 2,100 students, staff, faculty, and administrators on the two campuses participated in the research. The results indicate over 70 % of respondents oppose the option of carrying concealed guns on campus. In addition, the idea of more guns on campus makes the majority of students and faculty feel less safe, and allowing concealed weapons serves to decrease the sense of campus safety. This study continues to empirically advance the argument that those who live, work, and study do not want more guns on campus. Further research in this area, including an expanded range of the nation’s college campuses, should be explored.     

Death caused by projectile guns--a retrospective analysis of 34 cases in Berlin and Hamburg

The autopsy material of the institutes for forensic medicine in Berlin/GDR and Hamburg was analyzed retrospectively (period from 1961 till 1987; 70,000 autopsies) for fatalities caused by "humane killers" (n = 22) and stud guns (n = 12).-Epidemiological, criminological and morphological findings: The decreased were all men aged between 18 and 75 years (mean 48 years) except one 61 year-old paraplegic women who was killed by her husband with a humane killer. The great majority of cases consisted of suicides; two accidents at work were caused by stud guns. These unusual weapons are normally used by skilled people (i.e. butchers or constructional workers respectively). The fatal wounds were situated at the head, especially the forehead, seldom at the nape of the neck or in the mouth, or sometimes in the chest when using stud guns. Combined suicides (especially together with hanging) are not unusual. Survival periods (with or without acting capacity) can range between minutes or even months (after neurosurgical intervention).-The frequency of such unusual and overall rare cases did not raise during the investigation period.     

The Mobility of Stolen Guns in Quebec

Research on crime guns has traditionally focused on the time-to-crime measure. This study shifts the focus to guns that entered the illegal firearm market through thefts. This subset of guns allows us to examine the same process and objective underlying the time-to-crime measure—that being the recovery process. Two new measures are proposed. The first, time-to-find, assesses the time span between a gun’s theft and seizure by police. The second, distance-to-recovery, introduces a spatial dimension to the crime gun repertoire by measuring the distance a firearm travels between its points of theft and seizure. Using a mix of national (Canada) and provincial (Quebec) data on crime guns, this study’s findings show that these two new measures are tapping into a unique phenomenon: whereas time-to-crime accounts for a gun’s complete lifecycle, time-to-find and distance-to-recovery reflect a gun’s criminal lifecycle. At the multivariate level, the most influential factor explaining both time-to-find and distance-to-recovery is the registration status of the gun. Non-registered crime guns took longer to find and traveled lengthier distances between the moments and points of theft and seizure. Our explanation for this is that non-registered guns may be stolen from sources that are more problematic to begin with and, thus, result in the gun’s transition toward a segment of the illegal market that is also more problematic and in demand than the pool of firearms represented by registered guns. This would embed the firearm more deeply into the illegal market, making it more difficult to retrieve and more likely to be dispersed across a wider geographical plane than guns which are registered to begin with.     

Fatalities Caused by Spherical Bullets Fired from Blank Cartridge Guns in Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract:  Blank cartridge guns are generally regarded as being harmless and are not considered to be firearms in the legal sense in most countries. To show the danger of these guns upon simple modifications, we report 59 fatalities resulting from these simply modified blank cartridge guns in Istanbul, Turkey. The great majority of the victims were males and the age of those ranged from 11 to 61 years. In 55.9% of these cases, homicide was the origin followed by suicide (39%). The right temporal region was detected to be the preferred region in suicidal shots by blank cartridge guns with a frequency of 56.5%. In trial shots, all these guns were detected to discharge steel or lead spherical objects, generally 4 or 5 mm in diameter, successfully. Our findings strongly suggest that these guns should also be considered as handguns in the legal sense.     

Mole guns in Turkey in 2003-2005

This study describes the frequency of mole guns in Turkey by examining the cases sent to the Council of Forensic Medicine of Turkey between 2003 and 2005. In total, 11 mole guns were examined. Mole guns are manufactured to be used as a trap against detrimental animals. Although they are not meant to be used as a firearm, they are able to cause death. Mole guns appearing in regular casework were evaluated in terms of type of the gun, number of barrels, size and caliber, rifling, design, mechanism, fitness for use, legality, and geographical distribution. Ninety-one percent of the guns were 12 gauge. Most commonly they originate from Inner Anatolia. Mole guns are typically handmade. Some examples of injuries and deaths caused by mole guns are also offered.     

Pen guns in Turkey

This study describes the frequency and type of pen guns in Turkey by examining the cases sent to the Council of Forensic Medicine of Turkey between 2000 and 2004. In total, 32 cases and 61 pen guns were examined. These guns were evaluated in respect of the type of the gun, size and caliber, rifling, design, mechanism, fitness for use, legality, and geographical distribution. Fifty-nine percent of the guns were 22-gauge. Most commonly, they originate from South Eastern Anatolia. It is suggested that the guns are handmade.     

毛发枪弹损伤的环境扫描电镜研究

目的探讨毛发枪弹损伤微观形态与射击距离之间的关系。方法应用环境扫描电镜/能谱仪对64式手枪在0~200cm范围内射击造成的毛发损伤及附着物进行形态和成分分析。结果0~30cm射击,毛发表面粘附有大量密集分布的球形射击残留物颗粒,鳞片有严重斑纹状损伤和崩裂缺损;30~60cm射击,毛发表面粘附有较多散在分布的球形射击残留物颗粒,鳞片有轻微斑纹状损伤和崩裂缺损;100cm距离射击,毛发表面粘附有少数个别射击残留物颗粒,鳞片无斑纹状损伤;200cm距离射击,毛发表面无射击残留物。毛发枪弹射击断裂形态差异较大,大体分为剪切断裂和牵拉断裂两种类型,与射击距离无明显相关性。结论毛发表面粘附的大量球形射击残留物颗粒及其造成的鳞片斑纹状损伤对于法医学鉴定贴近距离射击((30cm)具有重要的实用价值。     

Intervening in gun markets: an experiment to assess the impact of targeted gun-law messaging

The objective of this study was to assess whether targeting new gun buyers with a public safety message aimed at improving gun law awareness can modify gun purchasers’ behaviors. Between May 2007 and September 2008, 2,120 guns were purchased in two target neighborhoods of the City of Los Angeles. Starting in August 2007, gun buyers initiating transactions on odd-numbered days received a letter signed by prominent law enforcement officials, indicating that law enforcement had a record of their gun purchase and that the gun buyer should properly record future transfers of the gun. The letters arrived during buyers’ 10-day waiting periods, before they could legally return to the store to collect their new gun. Subsequent gun records were extracted to assess the letter’s effect on legal secondary sales, reports of stolen guns, and recovery of the gun in a crime. An intent-to-treat analysis was also conducted as a sensitivity check to remedy a lapse in the letter program between May and August 2007. The letter appears to have no effect on the legal transfer rate or on the short-term rate of guns subsequently turning up in a crime. However, we found that the rate at which guns are reported stolen for those who received the letter is more than twice the rate for those who did not receive the letter (p value = 0.01). Those receiving the letter reported their gun stolen at a rate of 18 guns per 1,000 gun-years and those not receiving the letter reported their gun stolen at a rate of 7 guns per 1,000 gun-years. Of those receiving the letter, 1.9% reported their gun stolen during the study period compared to 1.0% for those who did not receive the letter. The percentage of guns reported stolen in these neighborhoods is high, indicating a high rate of true gun theft, a regular practice of using stolen-gun reports to separate the gun buyer from future misuse of the gun, or some blend of both. Simple, targeted gun law awareness campaigns can modify new gun buyers’ behaviors. Additional follow-up or modifications to this initiative might be needed to impact the rate at which guns enter the illegal gun market and ultimately are recovered in crimes.     

FEDERAL LEGISLATION AND GUN MARKETS: HOW MUCH HAVE RECENT REFORMS OF THE FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSING SYSTEM REDUCED CRIMINAL GUN SUPPLIERS?*

Research Summary: Following reforms of the federal firearms licensing system, nearly 70% of the nation's retail gun dealers active in 1994 dropped out of business by 1998. Dropout dealers supplied one‐third of guns recovered and traced by police but were linked to fewer crime guns than were other dealers, most likely because dropouts tended to be lower volume dealers. It is not clear if guns sold by dropouts had a higher probability of being used in crime, but guns supplied by dropouts did not move into criminal channels more quickly. Policy Implications: If federal reforms have reduced the availability of guns to criminals, the effect has probably been more modest than suggested by the overall reduction in dealers. Producing further reductions in the flow of guns to criminals through oversight of gun dealers will require refinement in the identification of problematic gun dealers.     

A new type of shotgun ammunition produces unique wound characteristics

The Tucson Police Department, Tucson, AZ, has begun using the Polyshok Impact Reactive Projectile (IRP), a new type of shotgun ammunition that includes a lead bead core that travels within single, plastic-encased projectile. On impact, the core is released to distribute over a small area, thereby disintegrating on impact to reduce the likelihood of exit or collateral damage on missed shots. After a brief review of shotgun slug ballistics and wound characteristics and a discussion of the mechanism of the Polyshok IRP, we report the first death in the United States from this ammunition. Findings included a single entrance wound with plastic ammunition components and small lead particles recovered from the body, the combination of which normally would suggest a close-range shooting with birdshot. However, the characteristics of this ammunition create different patterns than are found with slugs or shot, so that a medical examiner unfamiliar with the Polyshok IRP could draw inaccurate conclusions about ammunition and range of fire. Because the single projectile fired from this ammunition is composed of both plastic and lead, plastic components are likely to be found within the wound at any range of fire, unlike traditional shot or slug ammunition. Also, the small size of lead particles found spread through the wound cavity would ordinarily suggest a small-size shot, whereas the external appearance of the wound (a single entrance with no dispersion of shot) and the pattern of tissue destruction are more consistent with the patterns of injury associated with shotgun slugs.     

THE TRADE IN TOOLS: THE MARKET FOR ILLICIT GUNS IN HIGH‐RISK NETWORKS

Illegal guns circulating among high‐risk networks represent a threat to the security and well‐being of urban neighborhoods. Research findings reveal that illegal firearms are usually acquired through a variety of means, including theft and diversions from legitimate firearms commerce. Little is known, however, about the underground gun markets supplying the gang and drug networks responsible for a large share of gun violence in U.S. cities. In this article, we take a mixed‐methods approach, combining trace analyses of recovered handguns with ethnographic interviews of high‐risk gun users to develop new insights on the entry of guns into three criminal networks in Boston. We find that guns possessed by Boston gang members are of a different character compared with other crime guns; these guns are more likely to be older firearms originating from New Hampshire, Maine, and I‐95 southern states. The results of our qualitative research reveal that gang members and drug dealers pay inflated prices for handguns diverted by traffickers exploiting unregulated secondary market transactions, with significant premiums paid for high‐caliber semiautomatic pistols. Taken together, these findings provide an analytic portrait of the market for illicit guns among those most proximate to violence, yielding novel empirical, theoretical, and practical insights into the problem of criminal gun access.     

Dynamic pressure measurement of cartridge operated vole captive bolt devices

IntroductionVole captive bolt devices are powder actuated spring guns that are used as a pest control mean. After having triggered the explosion of the blank cartridge by touching a metal ring around the muzzle, the vole is killed by the massive propulsion of the gas jet. Improper use and recklessness while handling these devices may cause severe injuries with the hand of the operator at particular risk. Currently, there are no experimental investigations on the ballistic background of these devices.MethodsAn experimental test set-up was designed for measurement of the firing pressure and the dynamic force of the gas jet of a vole captive bolt device. Therefore, a vole captive bolt device was prepared with a pressure take-off channel and a piezoelectric transducer for measurement of the firing pressure. For measurement of the dynamic impact force of the gas jet an annular quartz force sensor was installed on a test bench. Each three simultaneous measurements of the cartridges’ firing pressure and the dynamic force of the blast wave were taken at various distances between muzzle and load washer.ResultsThe maximum gas pressure in the explosion chamber was up to 1100 bar. The shot development over time showed a typical gas pressure curve. Flow velocity of the gas jet was up to 2000 m/s. The maximum impact force of the gas jet at the target showed a strong inverse ratio to the muzzle's distance and was up to 11,500 N for the contact shot distance. Energy density of the gas jet for the close contact shot was far beyond the energy density required for skin penetration.ConclusionThe unique design features (short tube between cartridge mouth and muzzle and narrow diameter of the muzzle) of these gadgets are responsible for the high firing pressure, velocity and force of the gas jet. These findings explain the trauma mechanics of the extensive tissue damage observed in accidental shots of these devices.     

Suicide with two guns represents a special type of combined suicide

Suicide by simultaneous gunshots with two firearms is rare. The case of a 90-year-old man who killed himself with two 6.35 mm pistols fired at the temples at the same time is presented. The victim was found dead on the terrace of his home; two guns and two cartridges were present near the corpse. Cases of suicides with two guns published in the literature are compared, and the Italian cases are illustrated briefly. The authors describe the circumstances and autopsy findings that permitted the assertion that it was a case of suicide and to exclude an homicide and show, by figures, the three-dimensional reconstruction of cranial shooting injuries. The use of two guns is considered a representation of a special type of "combined suicide" or "planned complex suicide."     

The specificity of injuries inflicted by shots made from remade and self-made guns with silencers

Discussed in the paper is a complex forensic medical evaluation of injuries inflicted by shots made from a variety of hand guns with silencers. An experimental study denoted the specificity of close-distance entry wounds at shots made from remade or self-made guns with silencers; the quantitative and qualitative differential diagnostics was possible in such cases.     

浅谈现代警察警务实战射击训练

警务实战射击是人民警察开展警务技能战术训练的重要内容,通过学习和训练使民警掌握过硬的实战射击本领,并依法使用枪支,从而合理、合法、安全有效的处置枪案。