DOI: 10.1097/PAF.0b013e3181848093
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PMID: 19259032
Issn Print: 0195-7910
Publication Date: 2008/12/01
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Excerpt
We found this article particularly interesting because we have been confronted with a similar case,2,3 which does not appear in the literature review.
A 40-year-old man was found comatose by his girlfriend, after an attempted gunshot suicide. An 8-mm gas handgun and 3 blank cartridges were discovered near the victim. He was immediately intubated and admitted to the emergency intensive care unit where a CT-scan revealed extensive soft tissue damage, a nondislocated fracture of the right temporal and parietal bones, a large right temporal-parietal subdural hematoma, an intracerebral frontal hematoma, a right diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage, and a right ventricular hemorrhage (Fig. 1); however no metal fragments or foreign bodies were observed. The patient subsequently died 7 hours later. Necropsy showed an irregular and contuse oval contact-entrance wound of 32 mm × 12 mm, with a peripheral ring powder burn, and a large scalp hematoma in the temporal region of 130 mm × 140 mm (Fig. 2). A 10 mm × 13 mm defect was found in the temporal bone, which had a thickness of 1 mm (Fig. 3). Brain examination confirmed the CT-scan data and showed a septum lucidum rupture and signs of tonsillar engagement.
In France and Turkey, and not the case in the UK, the purchase of alarm gas-weapon, tear-gas, or other “nonlethal” weapons is authorised to be sold to anyone over 18 years of age. Therefore, any adult over 18 can obtain a handgun and ammunition, including tear-gas cartridges, pyrotechnical, and signaling material.
Gas handguns, contrary to common belief, are very dangerous weapons that may cause potentially fatal injuries to the head when fired at close-range. These handguns may cause injury either because of gas pressure, particles, thermal effect, or chemical irritation.4 Ballistic studies have shown that the gas jet alone generated by a commercial available blank or tear-gas cartridge possesses the characteristics of a missile when fired at close-range, ie, less than 10 mm.5 Contact or very close-range firing may produce a large irregular entry wound surrounded by a punch mark due to the expanding gas volume inside the wound. The skin may burst in a star-like pattern because of the violent pressure increase between the muzzle and a solid bone-like structure. Although this pattern may also occur in bullet gunshot injuries, it is often more pronounced with gas-weapons, because the expanding gas volume cannot follow the path of a penetrating projectile. In addition, the gas jet may cause distal rupture of larger blood vessels and produce soft tissue emphysema, by expansion and diffusion of the hydrodynamic pressure wave through the brain.
We entirely agree with Aslan et al to affirm that blank or tear-gas handguns are dangerous weapons that may inflict “severe injuries, permanent disability, and even death,” particularly where the head is concerned. The authors rightly underline that the fact that this type of weapon should not be considered a “toy.” As regards current gun law legislation, it seems most essential to inform gun salesmen and gun users of the possible dangers of these weapons. Moreover, it would also be interesting as well to mechanically reduce the gas jet pressure to limit its wounding capacity particularly as guns without projectiles may still be used for criminal activities.
