By Sue Britt

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - (Reuters) - An autopsy report has confirmed that an 18-year-old black man who died after a confrontation with police in the St. Louis suburb of Normandy was killed by what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the face.

The St. Louis County Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy on Friday on Amonderez Green, whose father and some witnesses challenged police reports that he shot himself with his .38-caliber gun after firing at police on Wednesday.

"The autopsy showed Green sustained one gunshot wound, which was located under the chin," St. Louis County Police said in a statement released late on Friday.

"Ballistic evidence of the bullet recovered during the autopsy confirmed the round had been fired from a .38 caliber revolver," the statement said.

Normandy, which has 5,000 residents, is just south of Ferguson, which became the focus of protests against racial profiling and police treatment of minorities after a white policeman fatally shot an unarmed 18-year-old African-American in August 2014 in an incident that was later ruled justified.

Normandy Police said Green's family had requested help from authorities as the distraught and suicidal teen walked 4 miles (6 km) through the Ferguson area with his family trailing him in two cars to monitor him. He refused to cooperate with police and fired on them, hitting at least one house in the neighborhood.

Police initially tried to use a Taser against him. One police officer shot at Green but did not hit him, police said.

After Green shot himself, he was taken to the hospital in critical condition and was pronounced dead at 4:29 a.m. on Thursday, police said.

Police said the gun belonged to a close friend of the Green family.

An investigation into the shooting is ongoing, police said.







(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Susan Thomas)