MULTIPLE ENTRANCE WOUNDS FROM ONE BULLET DUE TO THE USE OF A SILENCER

When a bullet strikes an interposed object before entering a body, the bullet may fragment, or particles from the interposed object may be a ccelerated. Such secondary missiles may cause multiple entrance wounds if a body is located in line with their flight path. In the unusual c ase reported here, a silencer acted as an interposed object. The bulle t disintegrated completely after impact with the central part of the s ilencer baffles, which were misaligned. Some bullet fragments were ret ained inside the silencer, and some exited as a collection of missiles , comparable to shotgun pellets. From a distance of several meters, th e fragments wounded the victim at seven different anatomic sites. Use of a silencer should be considered when bullet fragments are recovered from a scene or victim but no other appropriate interposed object is found.