NCJ Number
228525
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 54 Issue: 5 Dated: September 2009 Pages: 1127-1130
Date Published
September 2009
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This study reports on 59 fatalities caused by blank-cartridge guns in Istanbul, Turkey, that had undergone simple modifications.
Abstract
Because of the legal obstacles and costs of obtaining a legal gun in Turkey, young people in particular are obtaining blank-cartridge guns. These guns are generally sold in toy markets without a legal license required. Anyone over 18 years old can purchase these guns. When modified or even unmodified, these guns can cause serious and potentially fatal injuries. Without any changes to the barrel, using blank or tear-gas cartridges, firing at contact range can also cause penetration into a human body. Simple modification of these guns by discarding the barrier in the barrel makes these guns propel small spherical, mostly handmade bullets. The 59 fatalities examined in the current study resulted from modified blank-cartridge guns. The great majority of the victims were males, whose ages ranged from 11 to 61 years old. Approximately 56 percent of these cases were homicides, and 39 percent were suicides. The right temporal region was the preferred area of entrance for suicidal shots. In trial shots, all of the guns used discharged steel or lead spherical objects that were generally 4 or 5mm in diameter. Based on these findings as well as other similar studies reported in the literature, the authors recommend that these guns be considered handguns under the law. This study retrospectively analyzed the autopsy reports of the Council of Forensic Medicine of Turkey between January 2003 and October 2006, with an emphasis on firearm-related fatalities. There had been no blank-cartridge gun fatalities before 2003, so the starting point of the analysis was 2003. 3 tables, 4 figures, and 12 references