Injury
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The use of airguns in attempted suicide is uncommon. In such instances, the surface wounds caused by discharged pellets may be inconspicuous or appear deceptively trivial to the medical examiner. Airgun pellets however are easily capable of penetrating the skull or abdominal cavity when fired at the close ranges involved in suicide attempts. ⋯ Most of the victims were male. The majority of wounds were right sided. Four of the attempts were extremely determined, involving repeated discharge of the airgun or the use of other means to effect suicide.