Page 95 - CFDI Guide

GUNSHOT WOUND INVESTIGATIONS

Deaths and SBI from gunshot wounds (GSWs) in criminal defense may be the most common the CFDI will

see involving a weapon, and may be within a larger criminal event (i.e. armed robbery, rape). From
domestic violence to armed robbery, and negligent to premeditated – the GSW related will be at the top.

Other blunt force injuries (a GSW is a blunt force injury) and sharp force injuries may be as common, and
all will have investigative similarities and protocols. Some cases will have a combination of injuries and

classifications, some with multiple actors and others unknown.

The fact a person is deceased or injured from a GSW, and the Manner of Death is homicide, does not mean
murder. It does mean a person is deceased or seriously injured as a result of being shot. To be determined

are:
• Did another person shoot or was it self-inflicted?

• Did the person shooting – another or self-inflicted – do so intentionally or negligently / by accident?
• If intentional and not self-inflicted – what were the circumstances – pre-meditated, anger, self-

defense?
• If unintentional and not self-inflicted – what were the circumstances – anger, self-defense (as pre-

meditated cannot be unintentional)?

The role of the CFDI in all such investigations becomes as vital as their demonstrated skill and knowledge.

The gunshot wound itself may not answer these questions; however, incident scene and body (a separate
scene) investigation will. Never trust and always verify – every piece of evidence, every statement, every

report, every record, and every photograph. Each will tell their story and together will be the story.

Identification and Assessment
For all gunshot wounds the decedent assessment, in context of the incident scene is of significant

importance. In the review and analysis by the CFDI all official investigation assessments must be taken into

account – law enforcement (first responders and scene detectives), medical examiner investigators, and
autopsy. Judgment is deferred to the autopsy assessment as it is likely the most accurate as to description
of injuries, trajectories, and recovery of evidence from the decedent.

The autopsy assessment most often includes a three-dimensional injury description not influenced by the
incident scene. For example, many descriptions of GSWs at the scene are based on presumptive entrance

and exit, which may not be accurate, and if no exit there is a presumption trajectory – and shooter
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