Revolutionizing Crime Scene Investigation: New Innovation Quickly Identifies Shooter Within Minutes

Forensic Science International, already interests the Amsterdam police who experiences it in a real situation. It opens up new perspectives for the identification of shooters and the reconstruction of the facts.

Lead, a light signature on the crime scene

When a shot is made, residue micro-partitions disperse at very short distance around the weapon, contaminating the skin, clothes, surrounding objects. These particles, often rich in lead, constitute what experts call the GSR (Gunshot Residue). Their presence may indicate that a person has drawn. Or just that it was in the immediate vicinity during the shooting. However, these traces are thin, easily alterable, and are not always detectable without specialized equipment.

Until now, the police had to take samples from the crime scene, then send them to the laboratory for analysis. The techniques used were mainly based on scanning electron microscopy, combined with spectrometry. If they are precise, these methods are heavy, slow and mobilize significant resources. This limits their use to situations where certainty is already relatively strong.

The method developed in Amsterdam upsets this operation. It is based on a rapid chemical reaction between a reagent and the lead in the GSR. This reagent, specially modified for this use, makes it possible to generate a compound of a perovskite type. This material has a key property. It emits light when it is exposed to UV. Detection therefore only requires portable UV lamp.

The light signal obtained is clear enough to allow direct reading on the crime scene, without technical interpretation. This allows investigators to orient their actions in real time, in the field, with a gain in considerable efficiency.

Life -size tests and unexpected revelations for crime scenes

To assess the robustness of the process in realistic conditions, the researchers led a series of controlled experiences on a shooting stand in Amsterdam. Kendra Adelberg and Arno Van der Weijden, doctoral students involved in the project, used current handguns to pull 9 mm caliber balls on cotton tissues arranged at different distances from the barrel. The purpose of these simulations were to observe how the shooting residues disperse and attach themselves to the surfaces.

One of the most striking results concerns the sharpness of the fingerprints left by lead particles after applying the reagent. The luminous patterns generated, revealed under UV light, appeared clearly with the naked eye, including on surfaces located several meters from the shooting point. This confirms the effectiveness of the method to identify clues that are often too diffuse to be exploited by conventional methods.

But it was above all the persistence of the Luminescent signal after washing that caught attention. Even after several cleaning with water and soap, the traces remained visible, especially in areas such as nails, often overlooked. This resistance to washing increases the usefulness of the method in a judicial context. Because very often suspects can try to erase the traces of course!

The team has also shown that it is possible to indirectly take residues from clothing, shoes or objects using fiber pads. These samples, quickly tested, make it possible to go back to people who have been exhibited near the shooting, even without direct contact with the weapon.

An innovation born of technological recycling

This shooting residue detection system has its origin in a field at first sight distant from the drilling sciences. This is research on materials for solar energy. Perovskites, a class of crystalline compounds, have been studied for several years for their effectiveness in photovoltaic cells and electroluminescent diodes (LED). Their major property: emit light when they interact with certain types of radiation, including UV. This potential was unexpectedly exploited by Dutch chemists.

In 2021, Wim Noorduin, researcher at the Amolf Institute, and Lukas Helmbrecht, then a doctoral student at the University of Amsterdam, launched the Lumetallix start-up. Their initial objective is to democratize lead detection in the domestic environment. The kit they develop makes it possible to visually reveal the presence of lead on various surfaces. This ranges from dishes to toys or site dust. This general public test, simple to use and very sensitive was quickly adopted in several countries.

It was by adapting this process to the specificity of the shooting residues that the project took a judicial turn. Helmbrecht reformulated the reagent to target the metallic particles released during the combustion of ammunition on the crime scenes. This new compound makes it possible to generate stable perovskite crystals directly on the ground. They are then able to emit a persistent green luminescence under UV.

Implications beyond crime scenes

Although developed for the needs of criminal surveys, this technology has much wider uses. Especially in environmental health. Indeed, lead remains a current pollutant, despite the regulations. It is still found in old paintings, certain pipes, dust from renovation work or contaminated soils near industrial zones. However, its accumulation in the body, even in low doses, can cause neurological disorders, especially in children.

The test designed by Lumetallix, thanks to its simplicity of use, would visually identify the presence of lead in these risk environments. Applied on a surface, the reagent signals contamination by a green luminescence visible under UV. It thus offers a direct method, without sophisticated measuring devices or laboratory analyzes, to quickly identify the areas concerned. This process could thus serve as an early alert device in housing, schools or construction sites.

Researchers also plan to work in the field during emergency interventions. In particular during an industrial incident or a reporting of pollution. A trained agent could immediately detect contamination and inform the health authorities.

On the police side, time saving remains the main asset. By instantly visualizing lead traces on a scene or an individual, investigators can make rapid decisions about the driving to be kept. This responsiveness can be decisive in cases where the first hours directly influence the quality of the evidence collected. Technology thus combines operational efficiency and potential for health prevention.

Source: Kendra Adelberg et al., “Perovskite-based photoluminescent detection of lead party in Gunshot residue”, Forensic International Science (2025)