History Main / DeadMansTriggerFinger

* Film/{{Underworld}} has one in the climax, when the vampires assault the Lycan base in the sewers. Selene shoots the last Lycan, and he falls to the ground spraying bullets.

* In the Nick Carter story "Marked for Death", Nick shoots a gangster named Mike in the back, and initially thinks that he missed because Mike fires while spinning in place. But no, he was just reflexively pulling the trigger as Nick's shot turned him around, and Mike is already dead.

* Literature/{{Lensman}}: Specifically ''First Lensman''. Inverted. The bullet that kills the assassin Mook smashes through his brain before he finishes pulling the trigger, causing his hand to twitch and spoiling his aim. He still delivers the shot and it's still a hit, but it's off target and ''his'' intended victim survives.

* Happens in ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}''. An enemy killed by shooting often fires a couple rounds into the floor before dying.

* The BlastOut at the climax of ''Film/Enemy of the State'' is ignited when Krug is shot in the back by a cook with a shotgun, then falls to the ground firing his submachine gun into the air.

* The BlastOut at the climax of ''Film/EnemyoftheState'' is ignited when Krug is shot in the back by a cook with a shotgun, then falls to the ground firing his submachine gun into the air.

* The BlastOut at the climax of ''Film/EnemyoftheState'' is ignited when Krug is shot in the back by a cook with a shotgun, then falls to the ground firing his MP5 into the air.

* Literature/JamesBond ''loves'' this trope-almost nearly every gun-wielding mook that gets killed in one of the books will having his gun continuing to fire until it's empty or falls out of his hands.

* Cash manages to clear a hallway full of mooks in ''{{Cyborg 2}}'' by throwing a knife at one them, who then proceeds to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XQoxo7MjN4 mow down everyone behind him in his death throes]].
* Odd example where the shooting mook is dead to begin with: After a shootout in ''LockStockAndTwoSmokingBarrels'', there's a face down dead guy holding a shotgun. When Rory turns him over, the dead guy's shotgun is pointed at him. Rory shoots the dead guy and is then promptly killed by the shotgun, due to the movement of the corpse.

* {{Lensman}}: Specifically ''First Lensman''. Inverted. The bullet that kills the assassin Mook smashes through his brain before he finishes pulling the trigger, causing his hand to twitch and spoiling his aim. He still delivers the shot and it's still a hit, but it's off target and ''his'' intended victim survives.

* Stormtroopers gunned or chopped down in ''[[VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast]]'' sometimes shoot their blaster rifles into the air while spinning. Enemy Sith in the ''Jedi Academy'' expansion occasionally do a variant with their lightsabers, flailing wildly when struck with a fatal blow; it is quite possible for Jaden to perish by standing too closely.

* Enemy soldiers in ''VideoGame/{{FEAR}}'' frequently do this. It's not just for show; these stray bullets spraying can hurt and even kill you, especially in the first game.

* All NPC in ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}'' series able to pull this off, more apparent with NPC carrying automatic weapon.

** This is why police snipers are trained to target the brain stem. Destroying it results in no nerve signals being sent out to the muscles.
*** Which is in turn why true [[DeadManSwitch Dead Man Switches]] exist - there's very little one can do to reliably prevent a muscle from relaxing.

** A year later in the movie ''Heat'' the exact same thing happens to the exact same actor with the exact same weapon.

* In ''VideoGame/QuakeII'', most of the enemy fire off a few shots after being "killed" and falling down, unless you manage to blow them to bits first. This was an intentional game mechanic and was mentioned in the game manual. May be the first example of the Dead Man’s Trigger Finger in video game form.

* MedalOfHonor has had this since the first game. Luckily, you never have to worry about the bullets hitting you.

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* ''Film/RoboCop'': A random henchman gunned down by [=RoboCop=] during the drug factory shootout takes out his own boss as he falls.

* In ''TheIncredibles'', Elastigirl kicks one of Syndrome's mooks in the face, and he fires off a few semi-auto rounds as he falls to the floor. One of the bullets [[ShootOutTheLock hits the control panel for the door]] that Elastigirl is stuck in, freeing her.

* Stormtroopers gunned or chopped down in ''[[VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast]]'' sometimes shoot their blaster rifles into the air while spinning.

* Some of the shotgun-toting soldiers in AlphaProtocol will [[GoodBadBugs fire off a burst of assault rifle rounds]] if you gun them down while they charge to close the distance.

* A possibility in real life, if a person is shot while holding his finger on a gun trigger and jerks it back due to some combination of pain, surprise and instinct. It falls under the general umbrella term “accidental discharge”. This makes it dangerous to ShootTheHostageTaker.

* Ork grunts in ''Dawn of War II''occasionally put a couple rounds in the ground when shot to death.