Canturk et al.: Autopsy findings of suicidal deaths committed by firearms in Ankara, Turkey 1 ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine autopsy findings from suicidal deaths using firearms in Ankara, Turkey, and to compare the results with those reported from other studies. We retrospectively evaluated suicidal deaths by firearms referred for autopsy to the Morgue Department, Institute of Forensic Medicine, between 2002 and 2004. Results were subjected to discrimi- nant analyses using SPSS 11.5 package program. One hundred and fifteen cases (83.3%) were male, the ratio of male to female was 5 to 1 and the mean age was 31.96 years (range:12-85 years). Forty cases were aged between 12 years and 20 years, 28 were aged between 0 and 18 (20.29%). One hundred and thirty-three cases (96.4%) had one bullet entry and five cases (3.6%) had two bullet entries. Out of 143 bullet entries, 116 (81.12%) were caused by gun- shots fired from contact or near contact range. Regarding bullet entry sites, 103 (72.03%) were on the head with 56 (54.37%) were located on the right temporal region. Gunshot related crimes are an increasing cause for concern in Turkey. However, a simple preventive measure may prevent the suicidal deaths of many young people. INTRODUCTION The use of firearms has increased due to tech- nological advances in firearms and the ease of obtaining them legally or illegally. Firearm fatalities are very common in developed countries, with the USA having the highest rate (Aykac, 1987, Erturk et al., 1989; Coltu and Durak, 1992; Turla and Yayci, 2001; Gunaydin and Demirci, 2002). Some authors classify firearms as long- barrelled or short-barrelled weapons (Gok, 1983; Ozen, 1983; Aykac, 1987; Cetin and Yorulmaz, 1999), while others classify them as rifled or smooth-bore weapons ( Fatteh, 1973; Gordon and Shapiro, 1982; Knight, 1991; Polat et al., 1997; Fisher 2004; Bilge, 2005). In deaths resulting from firearm injuries, the question most frequently asked of the forensic medicine specialist is whether find- ings regarding the manner of death have been obtained. With gunshot fatalities, in order to determine whether the cause of death was suicide, the following information is particu- larly valuable: the shooting distance, firearm discharge residues on the hand and the number and locality of entrance wounds. In addition, any scene of death findings such as the presence of a suicide note, or the presence of a pistol, either in the hand or in the vicinity Autopsy findings of suicidal deaths committed by firearms in Ankara, Turkey Gurol Canturk, MD PhD Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Forensic Medicine Department, Ankara, Turkey Nergis Canturk, MD Institute of Forensic Medicine, Ministry of Justice, Morgue Department, Ankara, Turkey Aysun Balseven Odabasi, MD Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Forensic Medicine Department, Ankara, Turkey Zerrin Erkol, MD. Abant Izzet Baysal University Faculty of Medicine, Forensic Medicine Department, Bolu, Turkey Memnune Bosgelmez, Dt Institute of Forensic Medicine, Ministry of Justice, Morgue Department, Ankara, Turkey Correspondence: Associate Prof. Gurol Canturk, Ankara University, School of Medicine, Forensic Medicine Department, Tıp Fakültesi Adli Tıp, 06340 Ankara-Turkey Email: canturk@medicine.ankara.edu.tr Canturk_Turkey 1 28/5/09 15:37:35