AFTE Store - Sequence of Shots Through Tempered Glass

The first projectile to strike and perforate windows made of tempered glass will produce dense radial fractures around the margin of the bullet hole. These will be relatively short in length and quickly transition to the well-known diced pattern of small square and rectangular cracks. If the shattered panel of tempered glass does not fall out of its framework and is struck by additional projectiles, the subsequent bullet holes will lack radial fractures and the bullet will simply knock out an area of previously failed glass. These differences allow the first impact to be differentiated from all subsequent strikes. Careful examination of the recovered bullets can also allow shot sequence to be established. This determination is based on the appearance of the impact damage to the nose and ogive of the bullet. The bullet responsible for the first strike will sustain a shiny to dull flattened area where it yielded to the smooth, intact glass prior to the failure of the glass. Bullets or projectiles striking previously failed and diced tempered glass will often acquire impact damage in the form of facets as a result of striking the small, diced pieces of the failed tempered glass. If these facets survive subsequent terminal ballistic events, they establish the bullet as a subsequent shot and differentiate it from the bullet or projectile responsible for the first strike. These phenomena can be very useful in the reconstruction of shooting cases involving bullet perforation of tempered glass.