A trauma and anatomy expert has analyzed what happened in Charlie Kirk’s body after the fatal gunshot to his neck.
In an Instagram video, medical expert Josh Cottle explained, “What happens when somebody uses America’s number one communication tool to hole punch your neck? As it turns out, it’s all bad because the body does not like having extra holes in it.”
Cottle suggested the shooter may have aimed for the head or chest but hit the neck due to bullet drop or scope issues. He stressed the importance of the area: “Pay special attention to these two large blue tubes… the external and internal jugular veins,” and noted the carotid artery sends “roughly a liter of blood” to the brain each minute. “Severing these with anything is a big no-no in the user’s manual of the human body.”
He described how the bullet caused a “temporary wound cavity,” violently damaging tissue and likely destroying the brain-spinal cord connection. Kirk’s reflexive arm movements were decorticate posturing, not an attempt to grab the wound.
Cottle dismissed suggestions that quick medical care could have saved him: “He could have been shot in an emergency room and the outcome would have been the same.”
