NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Akilah DaSilva, who was one of the four people killed in the 2018 Waffle House shooting, died from gunshot wounds to the torso, according the the autopsy report.
The 23-year-old was taken by ambulance during the early morning hours of April 22, 2018 to Vanderbilt University Medical Center with multiple gunshot wounds.
The autopsy report by the Davidson County Medical Examiner's office says "despite aggressive resuscitation efforts, he [DaSilva] could not be revived and death was pronounced."
His body was then taken to the Center for Forensic Medicine for autopsy.
DaSilva's family filed a lawsuit against the hospital, alleging the two doctors who treated him placed the breathing tube in his esophagus rather than his trachea, "leading directly and promptly to significant injury or death."
Vanderbilt spokesman John Howser released the following statement in response to the lawsuit:
“Losing a family member to a violent attack of this kind is unthinkable, and our deepest sympathies are with the DaSilva family for their tragic loss. However, we absolutely disagree with the allegations in this lawsuit and intend to defend it vigorously. The Office of the Medical Examiner found that the cause of Mr. DaSilva’s death was the gunshot wounds he suffered. It’s unfortunate the DaSilva family has been persuaded to believe otherwise,” said John Howser, Chief Communications Officer for VUMC. “Mr. DaSilva received world class care from a highly accomplished trauma team. Unfortunately, many factors can impact a gunshot victim’s survival, including their condition before arrival at the ER, the caliber of the bullet and whether vital organs were hit. The allegations in the complaint are not true. Mr. DaSilva was not improperly intubated and VUMC has not concealed anything related to his care.”
