Dallas County Judge, Police Say Joshua Brown Was Shot Multiple Times But Not In Head, Mouth
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Dallas police and Judge Clay Jenkins have responded to reports of where Joshua Brown, a prosecution witness in the Amber Guyger murder trial, was shot on Friday.
Police confirmed Brown was the victim killed in a shooting in the parking lot of the Atera Apartments Friday evening. He was found lying in the parking lot with gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.
Brown's identity was not officially released until Sunday but was confirmed by the Dallas County District Attorney's Office on Saturday.
Since it was discovered that Brown was the victim, there has been wide speculation about the reason for his death. He took the stand nearly two weeks ago in the murder trial of Amber Guyger, where he told the courtroom he met Botham Jean for the first time on the day of his death. He also said he heard two people talking on the evening of Sept. 6, 2018 but couldn't understand what was being said. He said he then heard two gunshots.
Guyger was found guilty of murder in the shooting death of Jean. She was given a 10-year prison sentence.
There were disputes Saturday about where the gunshot wounds were on Brown's body. Civil attorney Lee Merritt, who's also the Jean family's attorney, tweeted that Brown was shot in the mouth and chest as he was leaving his car. He later said he also heard Brown had been shot in back.
In a news release Sunday, police said Brown was found with multiple gunshot wounds to his lower body. Judge Clay Jenkins also tweeted that Brown was not shot in the mouth or head.
"Dallas County, the City of Dallas and others will work to ensure a transparent and thorough investigation of the murder of Joshua Brown. Mr. Brown was not shot in the mouth or head but was shot more than one time. Many career professionals are hard at work on this case," Jenkins said.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson also responded to the speculation about Brown's death.
"I trust the Dallas Police Department will conduct a thorough investigation into the death of Joshua Brown. Until we know more about this incident, I encourage everyone to refrain from speculation. If you have information about this case, please share it with our police investigators so they can ensure that justice is done. Dallas will never be a city that tolerates acts of violence such as this," Johnson said on Twitter.
No arrests have been made as police continue to investigate. Witnesses told police they heard gunshots and saw a silver four-door sedan speeding out of the parking lot.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 214.671.3690 or Crime Stoppers at 214.373.8477.
