Firearm-related deaths in two industrial cities of Turkey and their province

Abstract

We aimed to describe the characteristics of forensic autopsies of firearm-related deaths in two industrial cities of Turkey, in order to provide further data for the characterisation of firearm-related fatalities in Turkey, having the remarkable scarcity of such information from Turkey in mind. In the period from January 1999 until the end of 2003, 3463 autopsy records of the Morgue Departments of the Bursa and Kocaeli branch of the Turkish Council of Forensic Medicine were reviewed. Of the autopsies, 14.3% were firearm-related deaths. Of the cases, 17.8% were females and 82.2% were males. The median age was 34 for males and 25 for females. 51.3% were in the age group 21–40. The most frequent manner of death was homicide (62.2%). Both in suicides and in homicides, handgun weapons were the preferred weapons. 70.9% of the victims had a single entrance wound site and most common site was head (39.2%). In homicides 73.4% of the entrance wounds were caused by distant range shots. Death occurred in hospital and during the transfer to the hospital in 14.5% and 7.4% of the cases, respectively. The most common scene was outdoors in homicides (48.1%) and house in suicides (60.5%). Alcohol was found in 6.3% of the cases. It is obvious that private gun ownership should be strictly limited and the illegal availability should be prevented in order to decrease firearm-related deaths in Turkey.