The Georgia man shot and killed while trying to flee authorities with an 11-year-old Knox County girl suffered 16 gunshot wounds when confronted by law enforcement off the interstate in Hamilton County, an autopsy shows.
"Multiple gunshot wounds" are listed as the cause of death for Edward Ahrens, 38, in the report from the Hamilton County Medical Examiner's Office. He'd kidnapped the child in late January after encountering her online.
Law officers shot Ahrens, a convicted sex offender, in the chest, forehead, arm, neck and chin, among other places early Feb. 2 after he pulled off Interstate 75 in East Ridge. Authorities say he was on his way to Catoosa County with the child.
Ahrens drove at and struck several veteran Knox County law officers who had been tracking his whereabouts. Catoosa County, Ga., officers took part in the pursuit through Hamilton County, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
The TBI said Ahrens refused to comply with officer commands to surrender.
At least four officers fired their guns into Ahrens' vehicle. The girl was unhurt in the shooting.
RELATED: TBI: Missing Knox County girl found safe near Georgia; suspect dead after confrontation with police
The Hamilton County Medical Examiner conducted the autopsy last month soon after he died.
His body was still handcuffed when pathologists examined it, the autopsy shows.
Ahrens had about six gunshot wounds to his chest. Bullets struck his lungs and heart, records show.
Testing showed the presence of oxycodone and marijuana in his system.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, as is routine, is investigating the officers' conduct in shooting and killing Ahrens.
