.45 acp Vs. the human jaw.

[luchador768]

Last Friday night we got a 24 year old male that decided he was going to end his life with a .45 to the head. He placed the gun to the bottom of his jaw, aiming up, and pulled the trigger. He was about 1 inch too far to the left and blasted a golf ball sized hole through his chin and OUT his mouth. I wish there were no HIPPA/confidentiality laws and I could post up some pics from his chart, but there are so I can't. It was an amazing wound, the bullet ripped a hole through his jaw and took away a lot of tissue, bone, and teeth.
Now for the weird part, he never lost concsiousness, and came in yelling and screaming at everyone to go away and let him die! He seemed pretty unimpressed with the .45's stopping power. His tox screen was negative, and he only had a small amount of alcohol on board.
I know many people in the gun world think that the .45 acp is a death ray and that any hit from it is a fight stopper, however this shooting shows me that it is still "just" a handgun round and not final word in stopping power.
Be safe,
Peter

[ZepoL]

Where do you work? Sharp, Scripps or at the U? I'm at Mercy right now.

And yes, it is all about location, location, location of the round to the target.

[jumbopanda]

If he really wanted to die, why didn't he just shoot himself again?

[damndave]

If he really wanted to die, why didn't he just shoot himself again?

maybe he only had 1 round left from the 45acp ammo shortage

[luchador768]

Where do you work? Sharp, Scripps or at the U? I'm at Mercy right now.

And yes, it is all about location, location, location of the round to the target.

Mercy, in the PACU! What do you do? I am a nurse.
Peter

[ZepoL]

Respiratory.

[luchador768]

If he really wanted to die, why didn't he just shoot himself again?

I imagine the first time stung pretty good.

[luchador768]

Respiratory.

Dude! Come over and intoduce yourself!

[ZepoL]

Nice meeting ya.

[SCMA-1]

Yes, the 45ACP is overrated; as you said, it's just a pistol round and unfortunately the subject of too much legend and old wives tales. I've read lots of after action reports involving the 45ACP; suspects taking multiple, dozen shots to the upper torso and kept on shooting/fighting. Placement is everything but even then it's not a guarantee they will stop fighting immediately. Use a rifle or shotgun for a better probability of the desired results as all common handgun rounds are woefully inadequate stoppers.

[Turbinator]

maybe he only had 1 round left from the 45acp ammo shortage

Ouch...!

Turby

[evidens83]

Why didnt he just aim at his empty head blow his brains out??! Thats what I woulda done if I was gonna pull the trigger...

[Rob454]

He only got shot in the jaw. Ok it was a nasty wound but not a terminal wound. The human body can take some amazing punishment. Having your jaw torn off is damage to say the least but if you're high or crazed that wont drop you dead. Now take that same round and place it in your forehead or over your heart its a different story. he could of been holding the gun at a bad angle or last minute twitch or clench of the finger spasm etc changed the angle of the gun and barrel so the bullet got his jaw
getting shot is really no fun

[badfish71]

gotta question for the OP. do you know what type of round it was.. FMJ, HP, etc?
ETA: guess it wasnt his time..

[B.D.Dubloon]

Damn, you are lucky. We never get **** like that in the ER where I work, but we don't have a trauma unit. Way to find a gun loving coworker too

Ain't hipaa a *****!