Breonna Taylor was shot six times but only one shot was fatal, investigation finds
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A months-long investigation into the death of Breonna Taylor has shed light on the 26-year-old EMT’s final moments
A state investigation into the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor has laid bare the final moments of her life, revealing the 26-year-old EMT was killed while standing next to her boyfriend after she was shot by cops six times.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron gave a detailed account of the sequence of events in March 13 shooting, which he said was pieced together by ballistics reports, 911 calls, and witness interviews, due to the lack of bodycam footage.
It came after the Jefferson County grand jury announced Officer Brett Hankison, who was fired in June, has been charged with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into Taylor’s neighbors’ homes.
Sgt Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove, who were also present during the deadly raid, were not indicted.
The results of the four-month investigation shed light on events leading up to Taylor’s death and found officers fired a total of 32 times after entering her apartment.
Taylor was struck by the gunfire while standing in the hallway of her home alongside boyfriend Kenneth Walker.
Earlier reports had said Taylor was sleeping in bed when officers barged in and opened fire.
It also confirmed cops did indeed knock while serving a warrant at apartment 4 of 3003 Springfield Drive in the early hours of March 13.
In the early hours of March 13, Louisville police officers entered apartment 4 of 3003 Springfield Drive, firing 32 times. Breonna Taylor was shot six times, but only one was determined to be fatal
According to investigators’ findings, Taylor was shot a total of six times, but medical evidence indicated that only one shot was fatal.
‘Further medical evidence shows Ms Taylor would have died from the fatal shot within a few seconds to two minutes after being struck,’ Cameron said.
Walker was determined to have fired the first round, striking Sgt Mattingly in the leg.
Mattingly was the only officer to enter the apartment, where he said he found Walker holding a gun.
‘In his statement [Mattingly] says that the male was holding a gun, arms extended, in a shooting stance,’ Cameron said.
‘Sergeant Mattingly saw the man’s gun fire, heard a boom and immediately knew he was shot as a result of feeling heat in his upper thigh.’
Bullet holes and blood smeared on the walls could be seen in one evidence photo from inside Taylor’s apartment after she was shot dead
The charges stem from Hankison’s bullets travelling into a neighboring apartment when he and two other officers opened fire. Pictured above are the bullet holes found in Taylor’s apartment
Crime scene photos from the investigation show a number of shell casings in and near the EMT’s apartment after she was shot dead by police on March 13
Cameron confirmed Walker shot Mattingly in the leg and there was no evidence to support the cop was hit by friendly fire from other officers.
During the shooting, Mattingly fired six shots, Cosgrove fired 16, and Hankinson fired 10, according to the report.
Walker also previously admitted that he fired one shot and was the first to shoot.
‘Sergeant Mattingly returned fire down the hallway. Mattingly fired six shots. Almost simultaneously, detective Cosgrove also in the doorway, shot 16 times. This all took place in a matter of seconds,’ Cameron said. ‘In total, six bullets struck Ms Taylor.’
Meanwhile, Detective Hankison, who was the only cop charged in the case, had fired his weapon ten times including from an outside sliding glass door and through a bedroom window.
‘Some bullets traveled through apartment 4 and into apartment 3 before some exited that apartment,’ Cameron said.
‘At the time, three residents of apartment 3 were at home including a male, a pregnant female, and a child.
Taylor’s living room was left riddled with bullets after the March 13 shooting by police
‘There is no conclusive evidence that any bullets fired from detective Hankison’s weapon struck Ms Taylor,’ Cameron said.
The AG said initial ballistics reports were unable to determined which of the three officers fired the shot that killed Taylor.
Cameron then commissioned the FBI Crime lab to conduct a separate analysis to see if they reached the same results.
‘Ballistics analysis concluded the fatal shot was fired by Detective Cosgrove.
‘Our officers looked at both reports to determine if there were major differences in the procedures used by each lab that would have led the FBI to identify who fired the fatal shot.
‘Both law enforcement agencies used similar equipment and analysis. Each lab is highly respected for their work.
‘There was nothing our investigators could point to nor anything provided by the respective agencies that directly explains why one lab made the call while another did not,’ Cameron said.
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