ABSTRACT
At every shooting scene, the crime scene investigator (CSI) seeks a variety of different types of ballistic evidence that may help to define where, in what order, and under what circumstances a given firearm was utilized. Whether responsible for the ultimate analysis or not, the CSI must document all of the various aspects of a shooting scene in a fashion that allows for such analysis. In shooting reconstruction situations, routine arguments are presented of accidental discharge caused by some malfunction of the weapon. As with bloodstain pattern analysis, the shooting scene requires extra documentation effort on the part of the crime scene technician. To understand all that ballistic evidence can define in context, analysts consider three separate areas, and the resulting information from each. Ballistics is broken down into three areas of study: Internal or interior ballistics, Terminal ballistics, and External or exterior ballistics.
