Andrew Brown was shot 5 times, once in back of head

An independent autopsy shows that Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man killed by deputies in North Carolina, was shot five times, including in the back of the head, attorneys for the man’s family announced Tuesday.

A pathologist hired by Brown’s family examined his body and noted four wounds to the right arm and one to the head, attorney Wayne Kendall said during a news conference.

Brown’s son Khalil Ferebee questioned why deputies had to shoot so many times at a man who, he said, posed no threat.

“Yesterday I said he was executed. This autopsy report shows me that was correct,” he said at the news conference. “It’s obvious he was trying to get away. It’s obvious. And they’re going to shoot him in the back of the head?”

Brown was shot Wednesday by deputies serving drug-related search and arrest warrants in the eastern North Carolina town of Elizabeth City.

A family lawyer who viewed a 20-second portion of body camera footage shown to the family said Monday that law enforcement officers opened fire on Brown while he had his hands on the steering wheel. Lawyer Chantel Cherry-Lassiter said that she lost count of the numerous gunshots while viewing the footage.

The shooting prompted days of protests and calls for justice and transparency. The body camera footage has not been made public.