Review of fatal gunshot cases in the files of the Department of Forensic Medicine in Białystok, Poland, in the years 1964–2015

Aim of the study was to assess gunshot fatalities on the basis of post-mortem examination reports collected at the Department of Forensic Medicine in the Medical University of Białystok.

Material and methods: The research covered 87 gunshot fatalities occurring in the Podlasie district (north-eastern Poland) over the period from 1964 to 2015. The analysis included demographic data such as the victims’ gender, age, place of residence and such data as time of year, circumstances of the event and causes of death. The study also investigated blood alcohol level in the victims. The results were analysed statistically using the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

Results: The majority of victims were young males, most of whom committed suicide. The most common cause of death among the suspected suicides was gunshot wounds in the skull area. The second most frequent gunshot wound location among non-suicides was the chest. The majority of male victims were intoxicated at the time of death.

Conclusions: In the area of the city of Bialystok and its surroundings, there are approximately two gunshot fatalities per year. In most cases, the victims were urban-dwelling young males (aged 21–30) committing suicide. The most common cause of death among the suspected suicides was gunshot wounds in the skull area and the chest. The majority of male victims were intoxicated at the time of death.