ATF Evidence Slide: Exhibit 6A Fragments
What This Image Shows
An ATF laboratory evidence slide. The inset photograph across the top shows five small dark fragments laid out on a blue background beside a yellow metric ruler printed with BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS. Small paper strips label the fragments 6A through 6E. Below, two high-magnification photographs show the largest fragment from two sides against a white background.
The printed metadata is precise. The handwritten card reads 2025-W-000401(1), SK, 09/11/25, Lab 6 / ATF. The centre line reads 055 25W0401, Ex 6, As received, and the two magnified frames are labelled 059 and 060, 25W0401, Ex 6A, 09-11-25, 3.94x, As Rec'd. In other words: five fragments recovered, photographed at the laboratory the day after the shooting, in the condition received.
Exhibit 6A is the single most contested object in the case. According to the ATF report, one bullet jacket fragment and four lead fragments were recovered at autopsy; the jacket was identified as .30-caliber class and shared class characteristics with the Mauser 98, so that rifle could not be excluded, but the fragment lacked the individual characteristics needed to identify one rifle to the exclusion of all others. The defense motion and the dispute over what further testing would do to the fragment are at ATF Fragment Inconclusive, ATF Inconclusive Ballistics, and Ballistics Sealed and CBLA.
Related Areas
- Cluster: Ballistics and the Gun
- Section: Gun & Bullet Analysis
- All photo evidence: Photos