Autopsy Shows Man Killed By Charlotte Police Was Shot Four Times

Protesters shout as they march in the streets of Charlotte on Sept. 23.

Chuck Burton / AP

A man whose death last month in Charlotte, North Carolina, prompted rioting and days of protests was killed when police shot him at least four times, including in the abdomen and back, according to an autopsy released Wednesday.

The report, first obtained by the Washington Post, shows that two bullets hit Keith Lamont Scott near the left hand, one hit him in his lower left abdomen, and one stuck his upper left back.

“The cause of death is two, penetrating, indeterminate range gunshot wounds to the back and abdomen,” forensic pathologist Kim Collins wrote in the report.

Attorneys for Scott's family did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News' request for comment Wednesday.

The shooting happened on Sept. 20. The autopsy was performed on Sept. 30 at the request of Scott's family, the Post reported.

Police have said Charlotte office Brentley Vinson fired the shots that killed Scott. Officers encountered Scott in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Charlotte. They were there to serve a warrant on a different person, but said they confronted Scott after seeing him with both marijuana and a gun.

Vinson was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting.

Police recovered a handgun at the scene of the shooting, though attorneys for Scott's family have repeatedly questioned how he was handling it at the time he was killed.

“Was there a gun in his ankle holster? Was there a gun in his hand?” Charles Monnett, the family's attorney, told the Post. “It’s pretty clear that Keith never discharged a firearm and I think it’s pretty clear from the video that he never pointed any firearm at an officer.”

Scott's death prompted days of protests. Some of the initial demonstrations turned violent, with crowds looting Charlotte businesses and attacking journalists.

Later protests remained peaceful and increasingly focused on police video of the shooting, with thousands gathering in uptown Charlotte to chant "release the tapes." And though police initially said that making the video public would compromise their investigation, they eventually acquiesced and released the recordings in stages.

LINK: These Are The Police Videos Of The Shooting Of Keith Lamont Scott

LINK: Here Are The Full Police Videos From The Fatal Shooting Of Keith Lamont Scott

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