A Unique Case of Attempted Two Gun Suicide with One Firearm Discharge and Two Muzzle Imprints

Abstract

Two gun suicides are rare and many authors regard them a special form of “planned complex suicide.” As with all multi-gunshot suicides, two gun suicides may initially lead to an increased suspicion of a homicide. In this article, the authors describe the case of an attempted two gun suicide where a 38-year-old male used two .45 caliber weapons to shoot himself, but only one discharged. Both firearms left muzzle imprints, despite only one having been fired. This case not only represents a rare form of suicide, but the muzzle imprint from the non-fired weapon provides an illustration of the mechanism of muzzle imprint formation.