Eighteen-year-old Michael Brown, who was killed by a police officer on Aug. 9, was shot at least six times according to results of a private autopsy.
A white police officer Darren Wilson shot Brown. The incident has put the police department in the St. Louis suburb under the scanner and generated severe criticism. People are not only condemning the incident where an unarmed individual lost his life, but also the handling of the situation after the teen's death.
The black teenager was shot two times in the head per the preliminary autopsy, which was conducted by Dr. Michael M. Baden (former chief medical examiner of City of New York). Dr. Baden flew to Missouri on Sunday, August 17, to conduct the autopsy on the request of Brown's family.
"People have been asking: How many times was he shot? This information could have been released on Day 1," said Dr. Baden in an interview after performing the autopsy. "They don't do that, even as feelings built up among the citizenry that there was a cover-up. We are hoping to alleviate that."
One of the bullets apparently entered Brown's skull, indicating that his head was bent frontward at the time of being struck. The bullet caused severe damage and Dr. Baden believes that the lethal bullet that hit the teen's skull was the last to hit him. The autopsy also revealed that Brown was shot in his right arm four times and all the bullets were aimed into his front.
According to a New York Times report, Dr. Baden is of the opinion that the bullets were not fired from a short distance. The firing appears to be not very close range as no gunpowder was found on the victim's body. However, Dr. Baden did not have access to the victim's clothing. In the event gunpowder residue is discovered on Michael Brown's clothes, the assessment may change.
Dr. Baden also let on that only three bullets have been found from the body. However, he has not seen the X-rays which reveal where the bullets were located. This information will enable the experts to gain a clearer insight into the results of the autopsy.
The current autopsy performed on the insistence of the victim's family is in addition to the one Missouri officials conducted. Attorney General Eric Holder has also ordered that another autopsy be conducted by the Department of Justice owing to the "extraordinary circumstances" of Brown's death.
