Interpretation of Audio Forensic Information from the Shooting of Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh

• NCJ Number: 308890
• Author(s): Robert C. Maher
• Date Published: October 2022
• Grant Number(s): 2019-DU-BX-0019
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Award: Interpretation and Processing of User Generated Audio Recordings

Annotation

This study discusses the interpretation of audio forensic information based on a case study of the shooting of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

Abstract

In this paper, researchers describe the acoustic evidence from the shooting of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh to provide a forensic estimate of the distance between the firearm and the recording microphones. The evidence includes the estimates of the various geometric and physical parameters and the likely range of uncertainty of those measurements. User generated recordings (UGRs) are increasingly presented as evidence in forensic investigations due to the widespread use of handheld cameras, smartphones, and other portable field recording devices. A case study comes from the shooting death of well-known Al Jazeera television correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh on May 11, 2022. Ms. Abu Akleh was killed by a gunshot while reporting from the West Bank city of Jenin during a clash between Israeli Defense Forces and armed Palestinian militants. The fatal gunshot was not captured on video, but the microphones of at least two cameras at the scene recorded the sound of multiple gunshots. (Published Abstract Provided)