The police were called to a possible suicide. The only witness to the event stated that the deceased picked up a shotgun, placed it to his forehead, and pulled the trigger. The weapon was a Winchester M 1400 shotgun; the wound was a near-contact wound of the forehead. There was a heavy deposit of soot and some fragments of tissue and blood on the left hand, which had to have been holding the muzzle at the time of discharge. On the palm of the right hand was a linear deposit of soot. The only possible source for this soot was one of the vents. Thus, one hand was at the muzzle, the other partially overlying the vents on the top of the shotgun forearm. As the deceased was wearing shoes, there was no way that he could have pulled the trigger with a toe. The manner of death was certified as homicide.
Fig.1 Entrance wound between eyes.
Gas-operated self-loading shotguns and centerfire rifles usually have gas ports where the gas, after operating the gun’s mechanism, is vented to the outside. The M-16/AR-15 is an exception. In some semiautomatic centerfire rifles and shotguns, e.g., the Remington M 740 and the Winchester M 1400, there are two ports in the top of the forearm—one on each side of the barrel—through which soot-laden gas is vented.
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