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- Title
Suicide by Shotgun in Southeastern Minnesota.
- Authors
Blessing, Melissa M.; Lin, Peter T.
- Abstract
Suicide by shotgun is a common method of suicide with high regional variation. We sought to describe their distinct, challenging features and provide demographic and risk characteristics. We reviewed 228 gunshot wounds autopsied at Mayo Clinic from 1994 to 2014; of these, 75 (32.9%) were shotgun wounds. All were suicides and contact range. Ages ranged from 14 to 92 years old; of these, 97% were men. The majority involved the head (70.9%), were intraoral (48.2%), and had upward (73.2%) and backward (73.2%) directionality. Next most common was the chest (21.5%), with backward (94.1%) and downward (64.7%) directionality. Four involved multiple wounds. Wadding was recovered in 16 (21.3%) cases. Six (8.0%) had a survival period. Most (66.7%) took place at home. Seventy-one percent had a known psychiatric history; 32.4% had positive toxicology. Although contact range shotgun wounds cause severe destruction, entrance wound and other characteristic are identifiable with thorough scene, autopsy, and radiographic documentation.
- Subjects
SUICIDE; SHOTGUNS; FORENSIC anthropology; FORENSIC anthropology laboratories; FORENSIC science equipment; FORENSIC sciences; CRIMINAL investigation
- Publication
Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2016, Vol 61, pS159
- ISSN
0022-1198
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/1556-4029.12946