I understand how someone would die if they get shot in the head, but if someone receives a bullet in the abdomen, unless it hits the heart, how does one die within seconds? I don’t think it can be hemorrhage so there must be another reason
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It all depends on where you’re hit. As you’ve pointed out, a hit to the brain or heart is nearly instantly fatal (barring some miraculous situations). The only other place you can really get shot and be instantly down for the count is the upper spine. Even then, that may not instantly kill you. Just paralyze you. A hit to most other body parts, while still extremely dangerous, aren’t nearly as damaging. Most other organs aren’t necessary for *immediate* survival. I.e., if you suddenly lost your liver (in a non traumatic fashion, like it suddenly popped out of existence), you wouldn’t die right away. It would take up to a day.
That said, besides the brain, people almost always die from blood loss after being shot. Many organs, such as the lungs, liver, etc. are heavily infused with blood, and if any of these organs, or a major artery/vein, gets shot, then you can bleed out in seconds. Most people, unless they’ve actually seen it happen, underestimate how quickly blood loss can kill someone. Completely severing an artery can kill someone in under 2 minutes, where traumatic damage to a major organ can kill in under 5 due to blood loss. However, the pain, bodily trauma, and shock from being shot *can* cause a person to pass out really quickly, making it *seem* like they died, when in reality they were just unconscious until they bled out.
All that said, the way gunshots are portrayed in media is often incorrect. Usually, you don’t die right away. In fact, there are **many** stories of people being shot (particularly in war time) and despite the injuries they carry on doing what they’re doing, often because adrenaline let’s them ignore the pain, up until the blood loss finally catches up to them. There are countless stories of one or two individuals holding off dozens of enemies for a short time despite being severely wounded because bullets don’t *immediately* kill you unless they hit the brain, heart, or spine.
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