A 15-year-old who was shot and killed by a Chattanooga Housing Officer at East Lake Courts last Wednesday night was shot in the mid-back, according to a report from the medical examiner.
The report says the death of Alonzo O'Kelley Jr. was a "homicide."
It says the bullet went into his left shoulder, then into the heart, lodging there.
He was hit by a single bullet fired by CHA officer Lt. Erik Reeves.
Chattanooga Police said, "The findings are consistent with the information provided by Lt Reeves following the shooting.
"According to Lt. Reeves, he responded to sounds of shots fired near the 2500 block of 4th Avenue and ran around the building where he came face to face with O'Kelley and another juvenile. Reeves told investigators that as he observed the two men, he saw that one of them had a gun. He immediately ordered them to the ground and to drop the gun. One juvenile complied, but O'Kelley began to run in an opposite direction. As he did so, O'Kelley raised the gun toward Reeves (from a bladed position) and was shot as a result."
Police said a bladed position is a sideways position.
CHA Police Chief Felix Vess said, "The initial medical examiner's report indicates that the entry wound is consistent with the information given by Lt. Reeves at the site. Of course, the investigation is still underway and no final conclusions will be made until all of the information has been collected and reviewed.
"As soon as we have the completed autopsy and the investigation is final, the findings will be released. At this point, there is nothing to indicate that there will be any conclusion that is different from what was reported by Lt. Reeves the night of the incident."
CHA officials said Lt. Reeves is a veteran police officer with more than 12 years of experience and has been an officer with CHA for five years. Lt. Reeves is also a post-certified firearms instructor.
CHA officials said they will have a press conference on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the agency's 801 N. Holtzclaw Ave. location to further discuss the medical examiner's report, as well as the video and audio recordings that were released today by the Chattanooga Police Department."
CHA officials held a press conference the morning after the incident and said the teen was threatening the officer with a gun.
The mother of the victim had told reporters that the shooting was unnecessary. She said her son had already thrown away his gun when the officer fired.
Some residents who said they witnessed the incident had said the youth was shot in the back as he ran away after tossing the gun.
Chattanooga Police also said Monday, "A video of the 30-second ordeal shows the gunfight between O'Kelley and the other unknown gunmen in a black Dodge Durango that led up to his encounter with Lt Reeves. Video captured by the Chattanooga Housing Authority's surveillance cameras captured most of the event. Audio from Lt. Reeves' radio traffic is also consistent with statements from him and witnesses to the event."
Lt. Reeves of the Chattanooga Housing Authority's Public Safety Division said that he was on bike patrol around 8:40 p.m. in East Lake Courts when he heard shots fired. He said it sounded like the shots came from at least two different guns.
Lt. Reeves said he abandoned his bike to investigate when he came upon two men in a dispute. Upon seeing Lt. Reeves, the two men attempted to run into a nearby apartment but could not gain entry.
Lt. Reeves said it was at this time that he noticed that one of the suspects had a gun. He said he gave repeated commands to drop the gun, but the suspect instead raised his gun causing Lt. Reeves to fire at him.
The youth with the gun was taken to Erlanger Hospital, where he died of a single gunshot wound to the upper body. Another juvenile was taken into custody immediately after the shooting and is believed to be connected to the initial incident.
Investigators with the Chattanooga Police Department said they obtained information that O'Kelley and another juvenile were involved in a shooting incident in the 2600 block of 4th Avenue with several occupants of two vehicles just before Lt. Reeves encountered them.
Crime scene investigators recovered multiple shell casings believed to have been fired from the two vehicles and also recovered a gun believed to be O'Kelley's.
CHA Police Chief Vess said the officer had to make a split-second decision while protecting residents at East Lake Courts.
The Chattanooga Police Department is handling the case.
The video shows O'Kelley (wearing a red shirt) walking along Fourth Avenue with another youth. The rotating camera then focuses on passing vehicles. It then moves and shows O'Kelley and the other youth running toward East Lake Courts. It then shows a number of police cars arriving at the scene. Another video shows Lt. Reeves running toward where he heard shots fired.
There is apparently no video of the actual shooting of O'Kelley.