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Characteristics Of Gun Shootings

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When conducting an investigation for a homicide due to a handgun it is important that investigators and firearms technicians have an understanding on how a handgun is manufactured, what is a bore, rifling patterns and their purpose, and caliber. Class and individual characteristics are present in handguns, projectiles and shell casings. Every handgun contains general rifling characteristics based on the number and width of grooves, as well as the direction of grooves. After a handgun is fired it can present with penetrating and perforating gunshot wounds, which have specific entry and exit characteristics. The muzzle-to-distance characteristics vary depending on how close or distant the shooter was from the victim or surface. Finally, at a crime scene an investigator must gather evidence at a death scene. When a handgun is used the investigator should document class characteristics of a firearm, bullet or shell casing. Also, the handgun or ammunition should be dusted for fingerprint and DNA evidence.
Early handguns of the 14th century were made of a bronze tube or wrought iron, packed with gun powder and a projectile then ignited through a touch-hole. These early guns were wildly inaccurate and often failed. By 1835, Samuel Colt patented the first revolving cylinder and chamber handgun, which was later mass produced as a weapon of choice by military personnel. The automatic pistol arrived in the late twentieth century. Today, modern firearms come in a variety of

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