70-Year-Old Bullet Wound Caused Death Of 87-Year-Old Chicago Man Decades Later

A 70-year-old bullet wound contributed to the death of an 87-year-old man in Chicago. According to ABC News, the old injury caused a problem for Tom Buchanan, and played a major part in his death last weekend. Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office spokesman Frank Shuftan explained that the shooting caused something to irritate the man’s abdomen, and ultimately caused his death.

“Buchanan’s 82-year-old cousin Mattie Matthews says the shooting happened in the 1940s. She says she remembers her mother and her aunt talking about it but she was never told any details and Buchanan never said much about it,” reports ABC News.

The 70-year-old bullet wound ended up causing severe abdominal pain, and Buchanan had to be taken to the hospital for treatment. According to the Detroit News, Buchanan was a retired steel worker. The shooting didn’t happen in war, and was something that was a bit hushed up. Of course, no one expected this to be the cause of Buchanan’s death so many years later. It is unclear if the bullet was still lodged inside of Buchanan’s body.

According to a post on Lead.org, bullets left in the body can break down over time. The body can and will absorb those fragments, and problems can arise — yes, even many years after the incident occurred. It is presumed that something like this happened to Mr. Buchanan.

“The absorption of lead from bullet or shot fragments is apparently dependent on where the fragments are, and specifically how acidic that part of the body is – the synovial fluid in synovial joints being the worst case scenario.”

Buchanan’s death has been ruled a homicide, since his cause of death was directly related to the 1940s shooting. It is unknown who shot him, or if that person is even still alive.

If you think that is a strange occurrence, there have been other odd news stories on the internet lately. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, a couple who had been married for 72 years died just hours apart last week. Robert and Louise Bain passed away just after Christmas in a hospital in Georgia.

“On Christmas Day Louise, 90, opened her eyes as Robert, 92, sat beside her in their hospital bed. Early the next morning she took her last breath. Six hours later Robert died, too.”

Their love story certainly wasn’t the first of its kind, and it went viral.

[Photo courtesy of The Atlantic]