McALLEN, Texas — The 15-year-old Brownsville student fatally shot by police inside his middle school after brandishing a pellet gun was not under the influence of any illicit substances, according to a full autopsy county officials released Friday.
Shortly after the Jan. 4 shooting of Jaime Gonzalez at Cummings Middle School, police announced he had died of two gunshot wounds, one to the chest and another to the abdomen. The autopsy released by the Cameron County District Clerk's office in response to a public records request supported that initial finding.
The toxicology report found only caffeine and two other compounds, theobromine, commonly found in chocolate or tea and theophylline, used in the treatment of asthma and also a metabolite of caffeine. Gonzalez also suffered a cut to his head, but there was no skull fracture associated with the cut. The pathologist who performed the autopsy could not be immediately reached for comment.
The shooting happened during first period at the school. Teachers locked classroom doors and turned off lights, and some frightened students dove under their desks. They could hear police charge down the hallway and shout for Gonzalez to drop the weapon. Gonzalez's parents criticized police immediately after the shooting for using lethal force, but police said they had no way of knowing the gun he refused to drop shot pellets.
Also Friday, The Associated Press received a copy of a letter from a school district attorney to the state attorney general, explaining that surveillance cameras in the school partially captured the shooting.
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