When Dr. Roy Guerrero, a pediatrician in Uvalde, Texas, testified before a U.S. House committee June 8 about gun violence, he told lawmakers about the horror of seeing the bodies of two of the 19 children killed in the Robb Elementary massacre. They were so pulverized, he said, that they could be identified only by their clothing.
In recent years, the medical profession has developed techniques to help save more gunshot victims, such as evacuating patients rapidly. But trauma surgeons interviewed by KHN say that even those improvements can save only a fraction of patients when military-style rifles inflict the injury. Suffering gaping wounds, many victims die at the shooting scene and never make it to a hospital, they said. Those victims who do arrive at trauma centers appear to have more wounds than in years past, according to the surgeons.
But, the doctors added, the weapons used aren’t new. Instead, they said, the issue is that more of these especially deadly guns exist, and these weapons are being used more frequently in mass shootings and the day-to-day violence that plagues communities across the nation.
