Report: Michael Brown Was Shot at Least Six Times, Twice in Head, Preliminary Autopsy Shows

Story by the Associated Press; curated by Dave Urbanski

NEW YORK (AP) — An unarmed black teenager killed by a white officer in Missouri was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, a preliminary private autopsy has found.

Image source: Dr. Michael M. Baden via New York Times

The New York Times reported that the autopsy by Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City chief medical examiner, found that one of the bullets entered the top of Michael Brown's skull, suggesting that his head was bent forward when he suffered a fatal injury.

Baden said it was likely the last of bullets to hit Brown, 18, whose death has spurred a week of rancorous protests in Ferguson, in suburban St. Louis.

Police have said little about the encounter between Brown and the officer, except to say that it involved a scuffle in which the officer was injured and Brown was shot. Witnesses say the teenager had his hands in the air as the officer fired multiple rounds.

Baden told the Times that Brown was also shot four times in the right arm and that all the bullets were fired into his front. The newspaper said the bullets did not appear to have come from very close range because there was no gunpowder on his body.

That determination could change if there were residue on Brown's clothing, which Baden did not examine, the newspaper said.

Some of the bullets entered and exited Brown several times, the newspaper said, including one that caused at least five wounds. It said one shattered his right eye, went through his face, left through his jaw and re-entered his collarbone. The last two shots in the head would have stopped him in his tracks and were likely the last fired, the Times said.

Baden told the newspaper Brown would not have survived even if he had been taken to a hospital immediately.

Baden did not return a message left by The Associated Press earlier Sunday.

Earlier Sunday, Attorney General Eric Holder ordered a federal medical examiner to perform another autopsy on Brown, citing the "extraordinary circumstances" surrounding his death and a request by Brown's family.

Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager fatally shot by police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, last Saturday was shot at least six times in the confrontation, including twice in the head, the  reported, citing a preliminary private autopsy performed Sunday.

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UPDATE: Baden noted that Brown's wounds did not conclusively indicate what the teenager was doing when he was shot.

“This one here looks like his head was bent downward,” Baden told the Times, indicating the wound at the top of Brown’s head. “It can be because he’s giving up, or because he’s charging forward at the officer.”

This story has been updated.