The latter, they said, has become far more sophisticated and can now be delivered in a large-scale aerosol delivered from a shotgun-like device.
This patent from 1878 is for an invention called a "coffin-torpedo," which was a shotgun-like device that would fire metal balls at anyone who attempted to open the coffin to which it was attached.
As he saw it, police were dealing with one man with a shotgun, a believed explosive device and a flag purporting to represent Islamic State.
An explosive device and a shotgun were used to gain entry to locked passages, according to police.
The bomb was configured as several large bags of powdery material connected by wires to a timing device and a shotgun shell detonator.
A Silicon Valley company, TeleNav, picked up the banner and offered a two-way dash-top device called the Shotgun, which sells for $300 including three months of service.
A search of the Mallners' home yielded a variety of items they believed were intended for Michael's device: fuses, spent shotgun shells, electrical tape and copies of Scientific American.
The campaigner, Geoff Sheppard, has lodged an appeal to overturn his convictions for possessing a shotgun and components for an incendiary device, alleging, in effect, that he was a victim of an agent provocateur.
If you see a shotgun or a shotgun shell firing device, leave the area - do not investigate how it works out of curiosity.
"The officers were attempting to affect a felony arrest using less-than lethal weapons, including a distractive device, K9, and a Taser shotgun," Eden said.
