OMI REPORTS ON FATAL FBI SHOOTING

Man who was shot may have fired first, report says

Man shot by an agent was hit eight times, autopsy finds.

On June 8, a Utah veterinarian walked into a crowded Albuquerque brewery and sat down with two off-duty FBI agents — one of them a female acquaintance. The veterinarian, 43-year-old Cody Wrathall, left the brewery and returned soon after with a gun.

It’s unclear what happened next, aside from the fact that at least one of those agents fatally shot Wrathall eight times in the chest, arms and back, according to an autopsy report released Wednesday by the Office of the Medical Investigator.

The report says Wrathall “possibly” fired the gun he had taken to the brewery.

Two months later, the FBI has released little information about the shooting. On Wednesday, FBI spokesman Frank Fisher declined to discuss the case, saying that the incident is still being investigated.

The night of the shooting, an Albuquerque Police Department spokesman said a woman called 911 around 8 p.m. from the brewery, near Interstate 25 and Montgomery NE, and said a man was stalking her. The department has refused to release that 911 call, along with others, from the incident, calling the Journal’s request for them “burdensome and broad.” APD eventually turned over two calls from passing motorists, but the calls do not shed much light on the situation.

According to the autopsy report, Wrathall walked into the brewery and sat at a table with the two agents and “after the initial interaction,” Wrathall went to the parking lot, possibly to his vehicle.

The report says Wrathall went back inside, brandished a gun and possibly discharged it before being shot. A holster was collected, along with Wrathall’s belongings, and he had alcohol in his system at the time.

The Journal has previously reported that Wrathall had recently been disciplined by Utah’s Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing for a June 2018 incident in which he allegedly overdosed on ketamine and Valium he got from a veterinary clinic.

After his death, Wrathall’s family, friends and clients mourned over social media, calling him a man who loved his children and family “with all his heart.”

“Please don’t remember my brother from what you may have ‘heard.’ We all have our demons but his now has wings! I love you Cody!” Wrathall’s sister wrote in a Facebook post.