One of the most famous executions by firearms, the summary execution of Nguyen Van Lem, a Viet Cong officer, by Saigon Chief of Police General Nguyen Ngoc Loan during the Tet Offensive of 1968 became an icon of the Vietnam war

Execution by single firearm is different from execution by firing squad used in the United States. An example would be "single shot from an assault rifle to the back of the head" as historically practiced by the People's Republic of China. It usually results in the disintegration of the upper half portion of the head. See Capital punishment in China for further details. The Republic of China (Taiwan) practises a similar method of execution, except that the shot is aimed at the heart instead of the head. Image File history File links Nguyen. ... Image File history File links Nguyen. ... Gen. ... A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ... Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam, located near the delta of the Mekong River. ... General Nguyen Ngoc Loan General Nguyen Ngoc Loan (December 11 1930 [1] â€“ July 14, 1998) was the Republic of Vietnams Chief of National Police. ... Combatants United States, South Vietnam, New Zealand, Australia North Vietnam, National Liberation Front Commanders William Westmoreland Võ Nguyên Giáp Strength 50,000+ (estimate) 85,000+ (estimate) Casualties USA/AUS/SKOR: 1,536 dead, 7,764 wounded, 11 missing, ARVN: 2,788 dead, 8,299 wounded, 587 missing, Total... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... The AK-47 is the worlds most common assault rifle. ... The mainland of the Peoples Republic of China currently uses capital punishment for a variety of crimes, ranging from tax evasion, corruption and racketeering to murder. ... Motto: None Anthem: National Anthem of the Republic of China Capital Taipei City (de facto) Nanjing (de jure)1 Largest city Taipei City Official language(s) Mandarin (GuóyÇ”) Government Semi-presidential system  - President Chen Shui-bian  - Vice President Annette Lu  - Premier Su Tseng-chang Establishment Xinhai Revolution   - Declared October...

In Thailand, before lethal injection was adopted in the 21st century, execution was carried out by a single executioner firing a mounted Heckler & Koch MP5, which fires in 3 round bursts aiming at the heart of the condemned prisoner. Lethal injection involves injecting a person with fatal doses of drugs to cause death. ... The Heckler & Koch MP5 is a submachine gun developed by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch (HK) in the 1960s. ...

In former USSR the standard method of execution was always "by firearms", by shooting a single pistol bullet to the victim's back of the head, by a single executioner approaching from behind. Such execution is described in The Liberators. The Liberators (ISBN 0241106753; Hamish Hamilton, 1981; published in the United States, W W Norton, ISBN 0-393-01759-1) - by Viktor Suvorov, (Russian title Освободитель) is a partly autobiographical description of life in the Soviet Army during the 1960’s and 1970’s. ...

Death occurs due to severe and traumatic damage inflicted on the brain itself. Only in botched executions does the bullet separate the spinal column from the brain or cause severe blood loss. A bullet to head is likely to be the most humane form of execution because the brain is rapidly destroyed before the accused knows what has happened.