PRIOR EXPOSURE OF THE ENTRANCE WOUND REGION FROM CLOTHING IS UNCOMMONIN FIREARM SUICIDES

According to an old rule still in use, gunshot suicides will rarely sh oot through the clothing but will pull it aside to bare the skin. Thus , a bullet defect in the clothing would be an indicator for homicide o r an accident. A total of 138 clearly defined gunshot suicides were an alysed with regard to this topic. The thorax, which is commonly covere d by textile, was the target for 27 suicides (19.5%). Of these 27 pers ons, 25 had fired through the clothing and 2 had placed the muzzle dir ectly on the exposed skin, which represents a relative frequency of on ly 7%. Special features such as thick clothing or an affected state of mind did not appear to influence this behaviour. Consequently, the pe rforation of textile does not suggest homicide or an accident - it is not applicable as a criterion for distinguishing different modes of de ath. Only in the rare cases when a gunshot victim is found with intact clothing covering the entrance wound can this finding be interpreted as an indication for suicide.