A child was admitted to hospital in cardiorespiratory arrest, apparently due to a gunshot wound to the oropharynx, according to the relatives, without a first inspection showing any injuries of this nature. The court was informed and a forensic autopsy was carried out.
Beforehand, a radiological study of the cranial extremity and the cervical spine was carried out, showing the existence of a foreign body of metallic density lodged in the spinal canal at the level of C2, compatible with a firearm projectile, as well as a smaller fragment in C3-C4.

Post-mortem examination
Male subject, 11 years old, totally naked, with a bloodied face. He presented as signs of medical action stitches in both wrists and left forearm and adhesive discs for electrocardiographic recording.

After cleaning the blood from his face, a small crescent-shaped excoriation with a discrete loss of substance was observed on the supero-internal ridge of the right nostril.

The first step was an autopsy of the spine, separating the skin coverings and muscle masses, with no haemorrhagic areas visible. After sectioning the transverse processes and the skull, the spinal cord is removed together with the brain, and a deformed firearm projectile is found in the vertebral canal at the level of the 2nd dorsal vertebra, which has partially severed the spinal cord, 35 mm from the bulb.

The cervical block was then removed, revealing an excoriation at the base of the tongue, a large retropharyngeal haematoma and the intraosseous trajectory of the projectile. The rest of the structures and organs examined were uncharacteristic.
After the operations performed, it was concluded that death was caused by a single gunshot wound penetrating through a natural orifice, specifically the right nostril, producing at this level a small crescent-shaped wound with slight loss of substance. It follows a front-to-back and slightly up-and-down path, pierces the hard palate, grazes the surface of the tongue, crosses the retropharyngeal space and, after passing through the intervertebral disc, lodges in the anterior wall of the spinal canal, injuring the spinal cord.

The morphological characteristics indicated a long-distance shot, possibly of a medico-legal aetiology of an accidental nature, which was confirmed during the police investigation.