100% rise in gunshot injuries in Dublin

New research shows that there was a doubling in the number of gunshot injuries recorded in two different Dublin hospitals in the space of ten years.

The unpublished study, presented at the RCSI Faculty of Radiologists Annual Scientific Meeting and led by Dr Ian Murphy, Specialist Registrar in Radiology at St Vincent’s University Hospital, examined all cases recorded in West Dublin over a decade on a hospital’s database of gunshot presentations.

Fifty-nine patients presented with gunshot wounds at the emergency department (ED) in Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, between 2001 and 2010; 34 were shotgun injuries and 25 were bullet gun injuries.

Dr Murphy said: “Shotguns are used to maim and bullet guns are used to kill. Looking at the mortality, two who received shotgun injuries died, yet nearly half of the bullet gun injuries died.” Shotguns tend to be focused around the extremities, whereas bullet gun injuries tend to be aimed at the torso, neck and head.

The research suggests the increasing rate of gun crime in West Dublin is a result of the increasing drugs trade in the area.

Dr Murphy added: “Despite the high-profile nature and severity of the injuries, this is a burden which, as a discipline and radiology departments around the country, we can manage.”