Less than an hour later, he was dead, killed by a shotgun blast to the heart.

He had been killed by a shotgun blast to the face.

She was killed by a single shotgun blast to the face.

She had seen a man hit by a shotgun blast at close range, once.

She came to work alone the next night and was killed by a shotgun blast to the head.

The shotgun blast had hit her high and to the right.

Since when can't you tell if a shotgun blast to the face killed somebody or not?

A shotgun blast to the face would not have done it.

The first shotgun blast passed clearly through his right side.

He turned around to see if anyone had paid attention to the shotgun blast.