Stephon Clark 'Shot in Back Seven Times': Private Autopsy

The independent autopsy, requested by his family's attorneys, concluded that bullets hit Clark in the neck, back, thigh and lung, causing him to "bleed massively."

Stephon Clark, the unarmed Black 22-year-old killed by Sacramento police officers in the United States earlier this month, was shot in the back up to seven times, according to the results of a private autopsy released Friday.

The independent autopsy, requested by his family's attorneys, concluded that bullets hit Clark in the neck, back, thigh and lung, causing him to "bleed massively," said forensic pathologist Bennet Omalu.

"His death wasn't instantaneous," Omalu told a press conference. "Death took anywhere from three to 10 minutes."

The father of two was fatally shot on March 18 by police officers who were responding to a 911 call about someone breaking into vehicles and thought he was a suspect.

Footage on body cameras and a helicopter video show Clark, holding only an iPhone, running into his grandmother's backyard, where police fired at him 20 times. He was not facing them at the time.

"You could reasonably conclude that he received seven gunshot wounds from his back," Omalu said.

Sacramento police declined to comment on the autopsy's findings, saying it "would be inappropriate" to do so before the coroner's report is released.

This latest violent death at police hands has sparked protests across the United States. Hundreds of Sacramento residents, led by Clark's brother Stevante, stormed a Sacramento city council meeting on March 28.

Outside City Hall, at least 300 protesters chanted: "You shoot us down; we shut you down!"