Multiple gunshot suicide occurs when a person commits suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 by inflicting multiple gunshot

Gunshot

A gunshot is the discharge of a firearm, producing a mechanical sound effect and a chemical gunshot residue. The term can also refer to a gunshot wound caused by such a discharge. Multiple discharges of a firearm or firearms are referred to as gunfire. The word can connotate either the sound of a...

s on himself or herself before becoming incapacitated. It excludes suicides where the firearms are operated by other people, such as suicide by cop

Suicide by cop

Suicide by cop is a suicide method in which a suicidal individual deliberately acts in a threatening way, with the goal of provoking a lethal response from a law enforcement officer or other armed individual, such as being shot to death....

.

Multiple gunshot suicides are rare, but possible. In one study of 138 gunshot suicides, 5 (3.6%) involved two shots to the head, the first, of which, missed the brain. A suicide with 4 gunshots to the head has been reported.

Incapacitation from a gunshot injury results from a decrease in the functioning of the central nervous system

Central nervous system

The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that integrates the information that it receives from, and coordinates the activity of, all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals—that is, all multicellular animals except sponges and radially symmetric animals such as jellyfish...

. In a suicide by firearm, immediate incapacitation can be achieved by direct disruption to brain stem

Brain stem

In vertebrate anatomy the brainstem is the posterior part of the brain, adjoining and structurally continuous with the spinal cord. The brain stem provides the main motor and sensory innervation to the face and neck via the cranial nerves...

 tissue. Rapid incapacitation can be achieved indirectly by cerebral hypoxemia

Hypoxemia

Hypoxemia is generally defined as decreased partial pressure of oxygen in blood, sometimes specifically as less than or causing hemoglobin oxygen saturation of less than 90%.-Distinction from anemia and hypoxia:...

 resulting from massive bleeding from the heart

Heart

The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...

, the thoracic aorta

Aorta

The aorta is the largest artery in the body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it branches off into two smaller arteries...

, or the pulmonary artery

Pulmonary artery

The pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs. They are the only arteries that carry deoxygenated blood....

. Damage to other major organs – the lungs, kidneys, liver

Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...

, spleen

Spleen

The spleen is an organ found in virtually all vertebrate animals with important roles in regard to red blood cells and the immune system. In humans, it is located in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen. It removes old red blood cells and holds a reserve of blood in case of hemorrhagic shock...

 – results only in delayed incapacitation. Incapacitation by a shot to the head

Head

In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose and mouth . Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do....

 is achieved when the bullet

Bullet

A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...

 penetrates the cerebrum; however, numerous bullet trajectories, including a shot between the eyes, do not achieve this penetration.

One particular case has been documented from Australia. In February 1995, a man committed suicide on parkland in Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. He took a pump action shotgun

Pump action shotgun

Pump-action shotguns, also called 'slide action repeating shotguns' or 'slide action shotguns' are a class of shotguns that are distinguished in the way in which spent shells are extracted and fresh ones are chambered. The weapon has a single barrel above a tube magazine into which shells are...

 and shot himself in the chest. The load passed through the chest without hitting a rib

Rib

In vertebrate anatomy, ribs are the long curved bones which form the rib cage. In most vertebrates, ribs surround the chest, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the chest cavity. They serve to protect the lungs, heart, and other internal organs of the thorax...

, and went out the other side. He then walked fifteen meters, reloaded, leaned the shotgun against his throat

Throat

In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the anterior part of the neck, in front of the vertebral column. It consists of the pharynx and larynx...

, and shot his throat and part of his jaw

Jaw

The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term jaws is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serving to open and close it and is part of the body plan of...

. He then reloaded, walked 136 meters to a hill slope, lay down on the slope, held the gun against his chest with his hands and operated the trigger with his toes. This shot entered the thoracic cavity

Thoracic cavity

The thoracic cavity is the chamber of the human body that is protected by the thoracic wall ....

 and demolished the heart, killing him.

See also

• Pierre Bérégovoy
  Pierre Bérégovoy
  Pierre Eugène Bérégovoy was a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1992 to 1993.-Early career:...
  
  
• François de Grossouvre
  François de Grossouvre
  François de Grossouvre was a French politician charged in 1981 by newly-elected president François Mitterrand with overseeing national security and other sensitive matters, in particular those concerning Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Gabon, the Persian Gulf countries, Pakistan and the two Koreas...
  
  
• Yuriy Kravchenko
  Yuriy Kravchenko
  Yuriy Fedorovych Kravchenko , was a Ukrainian police officer and statesman. In 2000, while a Minister of Internal Affairs, Kravchenko became directly involved in the murder case of Georgiy Gongadze and subsequent Cassette Scandal...
  
  
• Abu Nidal
  Abu Nidal
  Abu Nidal , born Sabri Khalil al-Banna , was the founder of Fatah–The Revolutionary Council , a militant Palestinian group more commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organization...
  
  
• Gary Webb
  Gary Webb
  Gary Webb was a Pulitzer prize-winning American investigative journalist.Webb was best known for his 1996 "Dark Alliance" series of articles written for the San Jose Mercury News and later published as a book...
  
  
• List of unusual deaths

Literature

• M. Zahid Bashir, "Multiple gunshot suicide in a female," Annals of King Edward Medical College (Lahore, Pakistan, October–December 2000).