Elucidation of a strange gunshot injury

Abstract

A 50-year-old obese man sought medical treatment for bleeding injuries in the abdomen and thigh. According to his statement he felt a dull blow on the front of the trunk while he was feeding swans at a lake. The forensic wound findings and the examination of the clothing suggested that the injuries were caused by a single close-range gunshot with the bullet path running nearly vertically downwards and having a total length of 38 cm. The bullet primarily entered in the right mesogastrium, left the body in the right inguinal region, re-entered and ultimately lodged in the right thigh. After confronting the man with the results of the forensic examination he admitted that he himself had caused the gunshot injury accidentally when cleaning his small-bore revolver.