Autopsy findings of firearm fatalities at District Head Quarter hospital, Lakki Marwat, KP

Abstract

Introduction: Firearm injuries are considered one of the leading causes for both homicidal and suicidal deaths worldwide. Among different firearms, handguns are the most preferred weapon used especially for suicide. Frequency of firearm fatalities vary from place to place depending upon multiple factors like culture, literacy rate, strict execution of laws.
Material & Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study based on secondary data of medico-legal autopsy reports of years 2013 and 2014 at the District Head Quarter (DHQ) Hospital Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. Informed consents were collected from respective authorities. All reports were analyzed in SPSS version 20 for descriptive statistics.
Results: A total of 93 autopsies of firearm fatalities including 49(52.7%) cases in 2013 and 44(47.3%) cases in 2014 were analyzed, which included 85(91.4%) males. The mean age of the deceased was 31.5±13.3 years. Majority of cases were brought from Lakki Marwat, followed by Ghazni Khel region. Multiple gunshot wounds were found in 53(57%) cases. Chest was the most affected body area involved, followed by head. Homicide accounted for 90(96.8%) and suicide for 03(3.2%) cases.
Conclusion: Young males were the preferred victims of fatal gunshot wounds, with majority being cases of homicide sustaining multiple wounds on upper parts of the body.