Over the decades since that fateful February afternoon in 1965, questions surrounding the death of this provocative and intrepid man still plague us. The Smoking Gun: The Malcolm X Files, reveals that an FBI report, dated February 22, 1965, states Malcolm X had “ten bullet wounds in his chest, thigh and ankle, plus four bullet creases in the chest and thigh. This autopsy located one nine millimeter slug, one forty five caliber slug and several shotgun pellets in his body.” Both blasts from the shotgun had torn through Malcolm X's heart and aorta.
Police were only able to find the sawed-off, 12 gauge shotgun and over 30 casings from a .45 pistol and a 9 millimeter automatic, possibly a Luger. The .45 caliber pistol was turned in later by one of the NOI bodyguards, who had taken it home, cleaned it and then turned it in to the FBI. The Luger was never found. Witnesses provided the names of two more suspects in the assassination, 26-year-old Norman 3X Butler, an NOI member; and 29-year-old Thomas 15X Johnson, an NOI member. Both were known NOI enforcers, but neither could have gotten into the ballroom without the utmost suspicion and scrutiny. Malcolm's aides and bodyguards swear that neither man was present the day of the assassination.
The initial report made by the NYC police, and local newspapers, stated that two men were arrested and taken to the police station. Later, that report disappeared and was vehemently denied to exist by the police who stated that Talmadge Hayer was the only person brought in.
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