Fatal firearm injuries caused by handmade weapons.
Six cases of accidental death caused by a shot from handmade or improvised firearms are described. Data were collected on incident, victim and special autopsy findings. In three cases the weapon used was a so-called 'pen gun' of small calibre (5.6 mm) and in two cases a home-made shotgun/muzzle loader with shotgun cartridge (containing 16 mm pellets) was used. In one case, the weapon was a shop-made gun with home-made ammunition. It is perhaps surprising that in the present war situation in Croatia, when all kinds of firearms are easily available, people continue to produce handmade weapons.
Definis Gojanović
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Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Clinical Hospital Split, Split, Croatia.