Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager who was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., was hit at least six times, according to a private preliminary autopsy performed on Sunday.
The New York Times reported two bullets struck Brown, 18, in the head. One bullet entered the top of his skull, suggesting his head was bent forward when it hit him and caused a fatal injury. Dr. Michael M. Baden, the former chief medical examiner for the City of New York, flew to Missouri on Sunday to conduct a separate autopsy at the family's request. Due to the nature of the event, Baden waived his usual $10,000 fee.
Brown was also shot four times in the right arm, and all of the bullets were fired into the front of his body. Dr. Baden determined the bullets were shot from a distance due to the lack of gunpowder residue on Brown's body. That determination could change if residue is found in Brown's clothing, which Dr. Baden did not have during the autopsy, according to The New York Times.
The two shots in the head were likely among the last that hit him. The gunshot wounds to his arm could show that he was either hit while walking away from the officer with his back to him, or that he was facing the officer with his arm up, either in positions of surrender, defensive, or another motion, ABC News reported. Brown likely did not suffer, as the shot to the top of his head would have left him unconscious.
The St. Louis County medical examiner confirmed in their own autopsy that the cause of Brown's death was gunshot wounds to the head and chest. A toxicology report is complete, but the examiner would not release any details.
Attorney General Eric Holder has called for a federal medical examiner to perform another autopsy because of the circumstances surrounding the shooting. It has led to protests that have escalated in the St. Louis suburb.
