An unusual case of unintentional firearm death of a 3-year-old child

The authors report the case of an accidental death of a 3-year-old child who unintentionally shot himself while he was handling his father's handgun.The peculiarity of the observed injury makes the case particularly interesting, along with the fact that, in Italy, unintentional firearm-related deaths are rather uncommon among children and adolescents.Because of the presence of only 1 bullet hole on the parietal-occipital region, radiological cranial examinations were performed before proceeding with the autopsy.Computed tomographic scans were useful to confirm the entrance site of the bullet and, especially, to establish the trajectory with the whole spectrum of fractures.The case shows that the unusual entrance site of the bullet through the nose led to a fatal cranial injury, as a result of curiosity of a 3-year-old child in the presence of an unsupervised handgun.