Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • NPR

    This is how handguns and assault weapons affect the human body

    The effect of assault weapons is much greater in children, as the surface area of their organs and arteries are smaller, said Dr. Joseph Sakran, a trauma surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
    by Emma Bowman Jun 06, 2022 5 minutes
    The casket of Roberta Drury, the youngest of those killed during the mass shooting at the Buffalo Tops supermarket in May, is brought out following the funeral on May 21, 2022 in Syracuse, New York.

    A wave of mass shootings has plagued the country in recent weeks, including in Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Philadelphia.

    There have been more than 240 mass shootings this year, a grim statistic that follows gun violence being at its highest point in more than 20 years in 2020, according to CDC data.

    It's a pattern some doctors have noticed even without the numbers in front of them.

    Wounds from handguns vs. assault weapons

    Bullets from lower caliber weapons, such as handguns, typically pierce straight through a target, medical experts say. By comparison, higher caliber guns, such as the AR-15s used in many mass shootings, can liquefy organs because of their much higher projectile speeds.

    "Assault weapons ... cause a condition called cavitation, meaning that as the projectile passes through tissue, it creates a large cavity," said Dr. Ian Brown, a trauma surgeon at UC Davis Health in Sacramento,

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from NPR

    NPR3 min read
    At Age 90, America's First Black Astronaut Candidate Has Finally Made It To Space
    Ed Dwight, a former Air Force test pilot who was passed over to become an astronaut in the 1960s, described his flight aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard as "life changing."
    NPR2 min read
    Benedictine College Nuns Denounce Harrison Butker's Speech At Their School
    "Instead of promoting unity in our church, our nation, and the world, his comments seem to have fostered division," the sisters wrote of the NFL kicker's controversial commencement address.
    NPR3 min read
    In A Debate Over A School Name, It's Not Just Parents Who Are Attached To The Past
    At the height of the racial reckoning, a school district in Virginia voted to rename two schools that had been previously named for Confederate generals. This month, that decision was reversed.

    Related Books & Audiobooks