Mansur Ball-Bey, the black 18-year-old killed by police in St. Louis, was shot in the back, his autopsy has revealed.
Ball-Bey was apparently found fleeing a home for which officers had a search warrant on Wednesday. The two cops, who are white, say that he pointed a gun at them, which prompted both of them to fire their weapons. Ball-Bey died from a single wound, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Police Chief Sam Dotson said the news does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing: “Just because he was shot in the back doesn’t mean he was running away,” he said. “It could be, and I’m not saying that it doesn’t mean that. I just don’t know yet.”
Dotson said he would be taking statements from the two officers involved, and results of fingerprint and DNA testing on the gun allegedly in Ball-Bey’s possession are pending.
The home that the police were investigating is owned by Ball-Bey’s relative, who says she doesn’t know why he was there. Police say weapons and drugs were discovered during the search in and around the home.
Demonstrators protested the killing in St. Louis, less than two weeks after the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s death in nearby Ferguson.
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