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Dorian Johnson, witness to Michael Brown's death, killed in Ferguson

Dorian Johnson, photographed at his attorney's office in St. Louis in July 2015
Danny Wicentowski
/
St. Louis Public Radio
Dorian Johnson, photographed at his attorney's office in St. Louis in July 2015

Dorian Johnson died of injuries sustained during a shooting Sunday morning on Abaco Court, less than a mile from where a police officer killed Michael Brown in 2014.

The friend who witnessed Michael Brown's death was shot and killed Sunday morning less than a mile from where a police officer killed Brown.

The Ferguson Police Department confirmed Dorian Johnson died of injuries sustained during the shooting that occurred around 8:30 a.m. Sunday on the 9600 block of Abaco Court.

The location of the shooting is just 15 minutes away by foot from where Ferguson officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Brown on Canfield Drive.

Ferguson Police public information officer Patricia Washington said that one suspect is in custody in relation to the shooting and that a warrant has been submitted to St. Louis County.

She added that earlier rumors that the shooting involved police were not true.

Washington said the investigation into Johnson's death is ongoing.

Johnson witnessed the fatal shooting of Brown in August 2014. The two were stopped by Wilson for walking in the middle of the street. Johnson spoke at a memorial on the 10th anniversary of Brown's death last year.

After Brown's killing, Johnson unsuccessfully filed suit alleging that Wilson illegally stopped and used excessive force on the pair. An appeals court dismissed the suit in 2019.

Posts mourning Johnson filled social media on Sunday.

Copyright 2025 St. Louis Public Radio

Kavahn Mansouri worked as an Investigative Reporter for The Midwest Newsroom from 2021-2025. Contact him at kmansouri@stlpr.org.
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