Autopsy results show Mansur Ball-Bey, who was shot and killed by St. Louis police officers, died from a single gunshot wound to the back. Police say he was armed at the time of the shooting. VPC
ST. LOUIS — The man who was fatally shot by police officers Wednesday died from a single gunshot wound to the back, a preliminary autopsy has confirmed.
Mansur Ball-Bey, 18, was shot and killed by police officers while they were executing a warrant at a home in the north part of St. Louis.
Police say two men armed with guns fled out the back door as officers were about to enter the house. Officers say Ball-Bey was armed with a firearm with an extended magazine, and the other suspect, a man in his mid- to late-teens, was armed with two guns and was in possession of crack cocaine.
As the suspects fled, officers in the alley near the house ordered them to stop and drop their weapons. Police say Ball-Bey then turned and pointed a gun at the officers.
Four guns, including the gun dropped by Ball-Bey, and "a quantity" of crack cocaine were recovered from the house. Police say three of the four weapons were stolen, including the gun Ball-Bey was holding. After further investigation, police say the gun recovered from Ball-Bey had been reported stolen from Rolla, Mo.
One person has been arrested since the incident. Roderick Williams faces charges for unlawful possession of a firearm. Officers say Williams is not the other man who fled the home with Ball-Bey. Williams' bond has been set at $50,000 cash.
In a statement released Friday, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said, "The results of the autopsy along with witness statements and forensic evidence, obtained during the (Force Investigative Unit) investigation, will be included in a final report." The report will then be sent to the circuit attorney for the city who will conduct a review of the facts in the case.
Police statements clash with statements from Ball-Bey's family attorney, who says witnesses told him Ball-Bey was unarmed.
A University of Missouri-St. Louis criminologist, David Klinger, said the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it constitutional for police to shoot someone in the back if they believe that person could be a threat.
Ball-Bey's death triggered a series of protests that have been violent at times. Crowds began to gather Wednesday afternoon, shortly after the shooting. On Wednesday night, police said some vacant buildings and a car were set on fire. Several businesses also reported burglaries. Nine people were arrested.
Contributing: Jimmy Berhnard, KSDK-TV , St. Louis; The Associated Press.
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