Medical examiner says Andrew Brown Jr. died from gunshot wound to back of head

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — The state medical examiner’s report on the death of Andrew Brown Jr. confirms he was killed by a gunshot to the back of the head.

The state’s report was released June 10, more than a month after Brown’s death. It lists Brown’s cause of death as a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Brown was also shot in the right arm and suffered lacerations and other wounds to his right thigh, right arm and upper back, according to the report. He also had a low level of methamphetamine in his bloodstream. But it “likely did not play a role in Mr. Brown’s cause or manner of death,” which was homicide, the report said.

The examination offers few new details about the shooting in Elizabeth City that continues to reverberate through the small eastern North Carolina community. Since the shooting, residents have marched in protest of Brown’s death and have been calling for police reforms.

One of the deputies who fired his gun at Brown handed in his resignation last week. And an FBI probe into the shooting is ongoing.

Armed deputies were serving drug-related warrants at Brown’s home when they surrounded Brown in his BMW. His car backed up and moved forward before several shots were fired at and into his vehicle. Attorneys for his family have repeatedly said Brown was trying to get away, while authorities have said he was using his car as a weapon.

An independent autopsy commissioned by Brown’s family shortly after the April 21 shooting had already found that he was shot in the back of the head. Prosecutor Andrew Womble confirmed that finding at a news conference last month, during which he said the deputies were justified in shooting Brown.

The state autopsy released Thursday said emergency medical providers were dispatched to the scene of the shooting at about 8:25 a.m. and found Brown lying on the sidewalk “pulseless with cardiopulmonary resuscitation in progress.”

“Crew members noted a significant amount of blood near Mr. Brown,” the report stated. “Upon assessment, he was noted to have what were believed to be gunshot wounds of the head. Injuries were felt to be non-survivable and he was pronounced dead at the scene” at 8:32 a.m.

(WATCH: Mourners gather for funeral of Andrew Brown Jr.)

Mourners gather for funeral of Andrew Brown Jr.

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