SMOKING GUN

Examiner: Van Ride Killed Freddie Gray

Struck bolt, injuring spine.

The Baltimore medical examiner’s office has reportedly determined Freddie Gray’s catastrophic injury leading to his death was “caused when he slammed into the back of the police transport van, apparently breaking his neck; a head injury he sustained matches a bolt in the back of the van,” WJLA-TV reports. It is not clear what caused Gray’s head to slam into a protruding bolt. It’s been speculated that Gray was injured by police with a deliberate “rough ride,” but the officer driving the van has not given a statement to authorities. On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported a second prisoner riding with Gray told police he was “trying to injure himself,” but then said Thursday that all he heard was a “little banging.”