Weapon and Steve Scalise
Weapon and Steve Scalise
This seemed like the best thread to pose some questions about the impact the weapon had on Scalise, his traumatic injuries, and the reason is was destructive, including force multiplier, ballistics, and bullet track through the relevant anatomy.
Hodgkinson used a SKS 762, semi-automatic rifle, Russian-made very similar to the AK 47, shooting Scalise from behind third base to near second base. The velocity would have been just under 2400 feet per second, delivering a kinetic energy of over 1500 joules(?).
I don't know how many bullets can be fired per second or the bullet clip capacity of that weapon and whether that bullet is solid core or can be a hollow point, delivering multiple missles in the body. Scalise did receive only one bullet in the "hip".
As far as the relevant anatomy, the round could penetrate the bone to the organs in pelvis and lower abdomen, which would include small and large intestines, urinary organs - bladder, kidney etc - and blood vessels, of which the larger ones of special concern are the iliac arteries and veins and abdominal aorta. He apparently had significant damage to those, requiring twenty units of blood.
From what I read, that type of bullet would have penetrated a few inches prior to creating a cavitation force. Those gel targets wouldn't necessarily be similar to what happens within the body.
(Alert - Graphic) From a trauma surgeon's perspective:
But the worst is a wound from an AR-15 or AK-47 — high-muzzle velocity weapons, which impart a tremendous amount of kinetic energy into the body. Those are much more destructive. You’re looking at a wound that, externally, is two, three, four times bigger than any handgun wound.
And that is reflective of the damage that happens on the inside. When a bullet from a high-muzzle velocity weapon hits the intestines, it’s like an explosion, whereas a low-muzzle velocity can be very similar to a knife going through the intestines; there’s bleeding, but it doesn’t destroy the whole area. A high-muzzle bullet, however, destroys whole areas of body. With a bone that’s been shot with a standard-issue caliber handgun, you’ll see a break, a hole in the bone, and maybe some displacement. But a high-muzzle weapon shatters that bone into hundreds of microscopic pieces, in a way that cannot be repaired. You need to essentially clean out the bone that has been struck and remove it from the body; it’s now a worthless tissue. You can’t believe that a bullet could do this amount of damage.
When a Bullet Enters a Body: Gun Violence as Seen by a Trauma Surgeon (The Trace)
This also had some good info:
Firearms Tutorial - Patterns of Tissue Injury (Utah Med Library)
Deformation of the bullet, fragmentation of the bullet or secondary targets such as bone, and amount of kinetic energy imparted to tissues, as well as tissue characteristics affect patterns of tissue injury. The higher the specific gravity of tissue, the greater the damage. Elasticity reduces damage. Thus, lung tissue of low density and high elasticity is damaged less than muscle with higher density but some elasticity. Liver, spleen, and brain have little tensile strength and elasticity and are easily injured, as is adipose tissue. Fluid-filled organs (bladder, heart, great vessels, bowel) can burst because of pressure waves generated. A bullet striking bone may cause fragmentation of bone and/or bullet, with numerous secondary missiles formed, each producing additional wounding. Fragmentation increases the permanent cavity size (Maiden, 2009; Bruner et al, 2011).
Formation of the temporary cavity exerts pressure waves and shearing forces. These forces can rupture blood vessels to allow blood to escape. The extracellular tissue matrix with collagen, reticular, and elastic fibers can be disrupted. Thus, a contusion of tissue surrounding the bullet track can fill the track with blood and interstitial fluid, as well as cause edema of contused tissue.
So, it appears he survived only by the combination of events, had the most critical injuries he could have and be alive when he arrived at the ER and straight to the OR, and that his organ and vessel damage is probably very severe. Should the shooting have gone on longer, his transport was not by helicopter, experienced trauma surgeons and personnel were not available, he would not have made it. Quite admirable that his security detail went up against it with their handguns. I think he and his family have a recovery that will include dealing with the results of that one bullet.
A look at firepower, destructive force of rifle in Steve Scalise shooting: 'Miracle he's alive' (The New Orleans Advocate)
Any insights on the weapon, the damage or other info?
