ATLANTA — Editor's Note: Manuel Esteban Paez Teran uses "they/them pronouns." 11Alive will use they/them pronouns when referring to Paez Teran.
Two forensic consultants told 11Alive Tuesday that Georgia Bureau of Investigation testing shows environmental activist Manuel Esteban Paez Teran fired a gun before they were fatally shot by law enforcement earlier this year at the site of Atlanta's public safety training center.
Gunshot residue testing results found "more than five particles characteristic" of gunshot residue on Paez Teran's hands. The results were obtained by 11Alive through the DeKalb County Medical Examiner's Office.
The samples were taken after gunpower residue "wasn't seen" on the hands during an autopsy conducted by the county shortly after Paez Teran's death. The particles are microscopic, and the GBI used a scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-ray analysis to test the samples.
The presence of particles supports the possibility that the Paez Teran "discharged a firearm, was in close proximity to a firearm upon discharge or came into contact with an item" that has gunshot residue on it, according to the report.
Chris Robinson, who previously served as a firearms expert for the GBI and led the Atlanta Police Crime Lab, said the gunshot primer residue found during testing was a "significant amount."
"The GBI stops at five (particles). That's the threshold," he said. "It's a significant amount of gunshot residue. To me, that means (Paez Teran) fired the gun."
Robinson, who owns Sharpsburg-based Chris Robinson Forensics and has more than 24 years of forensics experience, said several other factors point to Paez Teran likely firing the weapon.
According to accounts from law enforcement, Paez Teran was inside a tent when they were shot. The autopsies conducted by DeKalb County and the family concluded that gunpowder residue wasn't found around Paez Teran's wounds. If the shots were fired from far away, the residue wouldn't be present.
Robinson didn't express concern about gunshot primer particles being transferred to Paez Teran from another source — a potential issue with the testing.
If gunshot particles were transferred from another source, the levels found on samples from Paez Teran's hands likely wouldn't have been as high. These circumstances mean the results are strong, Robinson said.
Jay Jarvis, who worked for three decades in the Georgia State Crime Lab, agreed that the test results were strong.
"I have no doubt that (Paez Teran) fired a shot," said Jarvis, who owns Armuchee-based Arma Forensics. "With Teran being inside of a tent, the only way Teran could have got residue on the hands from another gun was if the person was inside the tent shooting."
According to the GBI, Paez Teran shot a Georgia State Patrol Trooper during a clearing operation at the site of the future training center. Officers returned fire, killing Paez Teran. Activists have questioned this account.
After Paez Teran was killed, seven people at the site were charged with domestic terrorism and criminal trespass. The GBI said it recovered a blow torch and multiple edged weapons from the site.
There have been other clashes between law enforcement and activists since then. More than 20 people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism in March during a protest gathering and musical festival.
The Mountain circuit District Attorney's office, which covers Habersham, Rabun, and Stephens counties in northeast Georgia, is acting as the special prosecutor investigating Paez Teran's death.
The office will determine if law enforcement's use of force was justified. The autopsy released by DeKalb County last week shows Paez Teran suffered 57 gunshot wounds. Patrick Bailey, the director of DeKalb County's Medical Examiner's Office, told 11Alive that Paez Teran was shot 27 times.
DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston recused herself from the case earlier this year.
The City of Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, referred to as "Cop City" by opponents of the project, is currently under construction. The site will provide training centers for the city's police, fire and EMS services in the South River Forest in DeKalb County.