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Shootout

Combat of groups using firearms

A fleeing armed suspect (left) engaged with a shootout with a Volusia County police officer (right). The suspect was eventually killed, while an officer was…
File photo: Volusia County Sheriff's Department · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to describe combat situations primarily using firearms (generally excluding crew-served weapons, combat vehicles, armed aircraft, or explosives).

Shootouts often pit law enforcement against criminals, though they can also involve parties outside of law enforcement, such as rival gangs, militias, or individuals. Military combat situations are rarely titled "shootouts", and are almost always considered battles, engagements, skirmishes, exchanges, or firefights.

Shootouts are often depicted in action films, Westerns, and video games.