Question about gunshot wounds and recovery time

[valerielynn]

I'm doing a little research for my story on guns and gunshot wounds.

In my story there is a mass shooting at a New Years Eve party. Lots of people get hurt. One of my characters dies in her fiance's arms and my other character (who is an undercover cop at this party) gets shot twice and loses alot of blood.

So my first question is for my character that dies in her fiance's arms. She dies quickly. Where on the body could someone get shot and die quickly? My second question is for my undercover cop. I want him to live but I want his condition to look serious and maybe make it look like he's close to dying. So where on the body could he be shot that would be considered critical? What would be his recovery time?

I also need to figure out how to describe being shot and what it feels like so I can describe the feelings in the story. So what does being shot feel like? Would someone with 2 gunshot wounds be conscious or would they immediately be unconscious or barely conscious? Could being shot cause a coma?

My last question is about types of guns. Considering this is a mass shooting what type of guns are typically used in a mass shooting?

[K. Trian]

I've never been shot, so I can't describe how it feels, like, first-hand. A character in my WIP dies from a hit to the thigh, artery fracked up, bleeds quickly to death.

Originally Posted by valerielynn

My last question is about types of guns. Considering this is a mass shooting what type of guns are typically used in a mass shooting?

But to this... it instantly reminded me of some recent mass killings. Note that even .22 does great damage!

The 2012 Aurora Shooting:
12-gauge Remington 870 Express Tactical shotgun
Smith & Wesson M&P15 semi-automatic rifle with a 100-round drum magazine
a Glock 22 handgun
-12 dead, 60 wounded

Kauhajoki School Shooting:
a .22 LR caliber Walther P22
-11 dead, 1 wounded

Hyvinkää shooting:
a .22-caliber rifle and a .308-caliber scoped bolt-action hunting rifle.
-2 dead, 8 wounded

Jokela school massacre:
SIG Mosquito .22
-9 dead, one wounded

What the killer uses depends on what s/he can get her/his hands on and where s/he lives, the gun laws, etc. have to be taken into consideration as well.

What kind of a scene do you want to create? Machine gun fire? (a big don't for me, but it may create a flashy scene)

[T. Trian]

Originally Posted by valerielynn

So my first question is for my character that dies in her fiance's arms. She dies quickly. Where on the body could someone get shot and die quickly? My second question is for my undercover cop. I want him to live but I want his condition to look serious and maybe make it look like he's close to dying. So where on the body could he be shot that would be considered critical? What would be his recovery time?

How quickly does she need to die? Obviously a round in the heart, throat, or brains is likely the fastest way to kill someone although if you hit any of the major arteries (say, shot in the thigh e.g) bleeding out can still happen in seconds.

As for the other one, it again depends on what exactly you want to do. For instance, being shot in the stomach is very painful but the person can survive for hours. Do some research about real gunfights. For instance, in the 1986 Miami Shootout, Matix was shot 6 times and Platt 12 times before they died while they killed Grogan with one shot to the chest and Dove with two to the head (and killed/injured a bunch of other FBI agents).

Can't really comment much on recovery time.

Originally Posted by valerielynn

I also need to figure out how to describe being shot and what it feels like so I can describe the feelings in the story. So what does being shot feel like? Would someone with 2 gunshot wounds be conscious or would they immediately be unconscious or barely conscious? Could being shot cause a coma?

All of that really depends on where they were shot and with what. I can't really give even a rough estimate without more details about the scene. E.g. a .45cal hollow point to the abdomen is likely excruciating whereas a 9mm full metal jacket that goes clean through the bicep can barely register depending on the situation and the person who's been shot.

I've never been shot but I once had my left tricep almost halved vertically and lost about two liters of blood (about a third of all the blood according to the paramedics) and was just about to pass out when the ambulance arrived (vision started dimming). That was about 15-20 minutes after sustaining the injury and, again according to the paramedics, about 5 more minutes might have been fatal.
I didn't really feel any pain because the injury had triggered a massive adrenaline dump which makes a person almost immune to pain. I had pieces of glass the size of a pocket watch still stuck to the tricep and smaller shards that reached all the way to my bones in my left hand but it really didn't hurt much at all and as soon as the medics put in an IV to compensate for all the lost blood, I came to my senses very quickly and even cracked a couple of jokes with them and the police who came to check out the scene.

Then again, people react very differently to situations like that. My sister e.g. sometimes takes injuries very seriously whereas ever since I was a kid, I've always turned very calm and focused when it's hit the fan.

Originally Posted by valerielynn

My last question is about types of guns. Considering this is a mass shooting what type of guns are typically used in a mass shooting?

I suppose the most common guns for incidents like that are pistols but it really depends on who does the shooting: what kind of weapons can they get their hands on? What kind of weapons do they prefer?

I would avoid using fully automatic weapons because they are difficult to obtain and contrary to what the media would want people to believe, a guy with e.g. a semi-auto AR-15 is likely to cause much more damage than someone firing a fully automatic weapon because the latter are much more difficult to fire accurately due to all the recoil. Shotguns are good at closer ranges (like in an apartment) because the shots spread out upon leaving the barrel but rifles (especially calibers bigger than .225) have significantly more penetration and a 30-06 can even pass through some walls (.308 probably can penetrate thinner walls [not sure if the term I'm looking for is drywall or not]). With pistols the type of ammunition used can make a big difference: hollow point rounds don't have the penetration of full metal jackets but HPs cause more damage because the bullet "spreads out" after it hits a target whereas the wound left by an FMJ is likely smaller and is more likely to pass clean through (but may hit the person behind the victim).

[valerielynn]

I want her to die in her fiance's arms. So basically I want her to die within a matter of minutes.

[theshovelbum]

Nick her cartoid artery and allow her the time to say her goodbyes..........is she shot with a small caliber bullet such as a .32-----even a 9mm would be believable if its a nick

[Canotila]

I've been told by friends who have been shot that it feels like getting punched really really hard. This was in the military, and they were shot with fairly high caliber rifles so I don't know if that translates well to handguns or not.

[K. Trian]

Originally Posted by Canotila

I've been told by friends who have been shot that it feels like getting punched really really hard. This was in the military, and they were shot with fairly high caliber rifles so I don't know if that translates well to handguns or not.

Do you know if the shot was to the armor or to some unprotected part?

[valerielynn]

Thank you theshovelbum that is exactly what I was looking for. I'm still trying to decide where exactly my other character gets shot at. It seems like every GSW scenario that I think of is either too minor or too serious. I just need something in between.