A review of gunshot deaths in Strathclyde--1989 to 1998

The case files of the Department of Forensic Medicine and Science at the University of Glasgow were searched for deaths involving gunshot injuries for the years 1989 to 1998. Seventy-one such deaths were identified. These were overwhelmingly males (93%) with a median age of 31 (range 17-80 years). Information surrounding the deaths was retrieved from sudden death reports compiled by the Strathclyde Police and the deaths were classified as suicide, homicide or accident. Fifty-one of the 71 deaths (72%) were classified as homicide, 17 deaths (24%) as suicide with insufficient information in three cases. The number of deaths for each year for suicides remained relatively constant at between nought and three cases per year, but figures for homicides varied at between three and ten cases per year, with a pronounced increase in the last four years of the study. The median age of the suicide cases was higher (50 years) than the homicide cases (30 years). The weapon used was predominately a shotgun in the suicide cases (accounting for 65%), but in homicide rifled weapons were the preferred weapons (59%). The site of injury was predominately the head in suicides, with a wider distribution in homicides, 32 per cent involving the head and 33 per cent also involving the chest. Alcohol intoxication was associated with a greater number of homicides than suicides. Homicides were noted to occur most frequently during the evening and early hours of the morning. The majority of suicides occurred at the victim's home address, while 72 per cent of homicides took place in the city of Glasgow.