Jermaine Lowe was hit eight times in the cascade of bullets that came his way after he opened fire on Cincinnati police early Tuesday in Clifton Heights.
Several of the shots alone could have been fatal, said Terry Daly, spokesman for Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Carl L. Parrott Jr.
Three Cincinnati police officers -- Scott Bode, Scott Krauser and Michael Ammann -- fired their 9mm handguns at Mr. Lowe after he leaned out the door of a stolen car and fired at them.
Mr. Lowe, 21, of Mount Auburn, had broken parole and was wanted on an aggravated robbery charge when he spotted police on his trail a little after midnight.
Officers had verified that he was driving a stolen dark blue Pontiac, and they were trying to pull him over. But Mr. Lowe didn't stop until he hit another car at the intersection of Vine and McMillan streets, leaned out the door and fired at them, police said. Despite a hail of bullets, no one else was injured -- including a man who sat in the front seat next to Mr. Lowe. He has not been charged. Investigators have not yet determined how many shots were fired and whose shots killed Mr. Lowe.
Preliminary autopsy results indicate Mr. Lowe was hit by bullets or bullet fragments four times in the head and four times in the neck and shoulder area -- all shots from the rear, Mr. Daly said.
It's hard to tell how many shots would have been fatal, he said, but at least a few hit vital areas.
The officers involved are on paid administrative leave pending an evaluation by a police psychologist, which is routine for police involved in shootings.
The coroner's office will turn its findings over to the police division's homicide unit, which is examining results of autopsy and ballistics tests.
