A Shotgun Injury with Billiard Ball Ricochet Effect: A Case Report.

Park, Jeong Woo; Choi, Cheol Ho; Lee, Joon Ho; Cho, Whee Yeol; Kim, Youn Shin; Lee, Han Young

Case Report

Korean Journal of Legal Medicine 2009;33(2):122-125.
Published online November 30, 2009.

A Shotgun Injury with Billiard Ball Ricochet Effect: A Case Report.

Jeong Woo Park, Cheol Ho Choi, Joon Ho Lee, Whee Yeol Cho, Youn Shin Kim, Han Young Lee

¹Department of Forensic Medicine, Southern District Office, National Institute of Scientific Investigation, Jangsung, Korea. parker8284@yahoo.co.kr
²Department of Forensic Medicine, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwang-ju, Korea.

Abstract

Because of the strict gun control system in Korea, deaths from gunfire injury cannot be frequently seen in the legal autopsies. Injuries or deaths among the registered hunters using shotguns, though not common, have been reported via mass media. We experienced a 52-year-old male's shotgun death in which the manner of death was mostly assumed to be a suicide. The shotgun injury presented the billiard ball ricochet effect, in which a large wound was formed on the inner side of the left thoracic cavity by spraying out of pellets while a small entry wound by bunched pellets was on the left anterior chest wall.

Key Words: shotgun injury, billiard ball ricochet effect, suicide