During the inspection of the "Petrohan" hut numerous shell casings were found in various rooms, and they were deformed, with torn casings and missing primers, the Ministry of Internal Affairs officially announced on its website.
The inspection also found bullets on which there were no traces of rifling and the barrel of a weapon through which they were fired, the Ministry of Internal Affairs added.
According to ballistics experts at the Scientific Institute of Forensic Science, these data give grounds to conclude that the found shell casings and bullets were not fired from a firearm.
The experts also specify that if the cartridges are not placed and loaded in a weapon and are subjected to thermal impact (e.g. in a fire) - at a sufficiently high temperature, the gunpowder inside the shell can self-ignite.
Then:
- The gunpowder burns quickly.
- The pressure in the cartridge case increases.
- The cartridge case ruptures and/or the bullet is separated.
Since there is no barrel to direct and retain the pressure, the bullet usually does not develop a speed comparable to that of a gunshot. The parts (bullet or fragments of the cartridge case) can fly a short distance, but with lower energy than a normal shot, the law enforcement agency also indicated.
bTV recalls that the information about the cartridge cases in the hut initially came from the leaked testimony of Deyan Iliev, who found the victims in the hut.