An Unusual Feature of Graze Gunshot Wounds

All graze wounds that occurred in the jurisdiction of the Fulton County Medical Examiners Center over a ten-year period (2005-2014) were inspected. Of a total of 227 graze wounds, 31 (14%) exhibited a previously not well-described feature. At one end of the graze wound, two small, subtle, parallel abrasions separated by a band of spared skin extended away from the wound. This finding occurred more often at the proximal corner (16 times) than the distal corner (seven times) when a direction was able to be determined. The mechanism of this feature does not appear to be related to jacketed ammunition expected to deform into petals. Possible mechanisms for the creation of this feature are random irregularities in skin resistance along with slight wobble (yaw) of the bullet or pressure waves generated by the bullet that causes buckling of the skin.