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Story highlights
Shots are fired at police, sending officers into a defensive position behind vehicles
Authorities fire tear gas into a crowd marching toward the police command post
Police: Protesters threw Molotov cocktails before police shot tear gas toward them
Michael Brown was shot at least six times, according to the preliminary results of a private autopsy that his family requested.
The independent autopsy was conducted by high-profile pathologist Michael Baden. Baden testified in the O.J. Simpson, Phil Spector and Drew Peterson murder trials.
Family attorney Daryl Parks did not provide additional details about the preliminary results.
However, the New York Times, reporting on the same independent autopsy, reported that two of the bullets struck Brown in the head. The other four struck him in the right arm – and all six were fired into his front.
“This is bound to escalate tensions,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson told CNN. “This is a very provocative report.”
Even before the release of this latest information, the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson has been a racially charged tinderbox.
Clashes once again
Late Sunday night, a day of peaceful protests devolved into a night of gunfire, Molotov cocktails and tear gas .
Officers fired tear gas into a crowd of hundreds of protester, including children, who were marching toward a police command post despite an impending midnight curfew. Authorities also struck at least one defiant protester with rubber bullets.
St. Louis County police said several protesters had thrown Molotov cocktails toward the officers before authorities shot tear gas toward them.
The violence escalated through the night as shots were fired toward police. Officers had to take up a defensive position behind vehicles.
“That is a lie. It was no fight, it was no shots fired,” a very upset protester, Lisha Williams, told CNN. “The only ones who fired was police. All we did was march to the command center to fall to our knees and say, ‘Don’t shoot.’ And they started shooting.”
The scene was a far cry from a packed church earlier Sunday, where hundreds of people gathered for a two-hour rally demanding justice for Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager shot dead eight days ago by a white police officer.
“I’m astonished at this reversal of mood,” Jackson said. “The mood was so positive.”
Cousin: Brown killed without reason
A cousin of Brown told the church audience that Brown was killed without reason.
“What I want y’all to remember is that Michael Brown was not just some young black boy. He was a human being … ,” Ty Pruitt said. “He was not a suspect. He was not an object. He was not an animal. But that’s how he was killed.”
Michael Brown’s parents – Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr. – appeared on stage at the rally at Greater Grace Church with attorney Benjamin Crump but didn’t address the audience.
“What we’re really asking for is simple justice,” Crump said. “We’re not asking for anything extraordinary. They just want what anybody else would want if their children were shot down in broad daylight.”
Crump said there would be an independent investigation in addition to the federal and local probes already under way.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson spoke to the 1,300 people in the congregation and said he had a heavy heart.
“The past 24 hours have been tough for me,” said Johnson, who took over security in the town on Thursday after what many saw as an overly aggressive police response by the local authorities. Johnson said he met with members of the Brown family and was moved to tears.
Protests had turned violent on Saturday night as well after a curfew began. One male was shot overnight Saturday, authorities said. It was unclear how old he was or who shot him. The victim was in critical condition Sunday.
Officials said state highway patrol officers didn’t fire any shots. They did fire tear gas to get to the wounded victim, Johnson said early Sunday.
A third autopsy
Brown was shot to death August 9 by a police officer after a confrontation as the teen walked down the street. Accounts of exactly what happened when Officer Darren Wilson stopped Brown vary widely.
Witnesses said they saw a scuffle between the officer and Brown at the police car before the young man was shot. Police said Brown struggled with the officer and reached for his weapon.
Several witnesses said Brown raised his hands and was not attacking the officer.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has approved another autopsy on Brown’s body, the Justice Department said. The autopsy will be conducted by a federal medical examiner.
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CNN’s Steve Almasy and Holly Yan reported and wrote from Atlanta; Steve Kastenbaum reported from Ferguson. CNN’s Jim Acosta, Eliott C. McLaughlin, Evan Perez, Joe Sutton, Ben Brumfield, Jennifer Duck and Greg Botelho contributed to this report.
