U.S. Army via AP
This undated photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark. The family says Clark’s wife witnessed the officer’s death, which happened Monday, April 30, as the two were video chatting via Skype.
Captain Bruce Kevin Clark, an Army nurse who died while on Skype with his wife, did not die of a bullet wound, U.S. military officials said. Investigators say Clark apparently died of natural causes.
“We can positively say that Captain Clark was not shot,”Chris Grey, a spokesperson for U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, said in a statement. “We do not suspect foul play in the death of Captain Clark at this point in our ongoing investigation.”
During a Skype conversation, Clark suddenly pitched forward and was unresponsive. His nose had been bloodied, apparently when his head slammed into the table or computer keyboard after collapsing. Clark’s family said Sunday they believed he had died of a gunshot wound.
Clark’s family released a statement describing what his wife saw in the video feed recording her husband’s death in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan.
“Clark was suddenly knocked forward,” the statement said. “The closet behind him had a bullet hole in it. The other individuals, including a member of the military, who rushed to the home of CPT Clark’s wife also saw the hole and agreed it was a bullet hole.”
But no bullet wound was found in Clark’s body, Grey said Monday. Investigators “found no trauma to the body beyond minor abrasions and a possible broken nose most likely caused from Captain Clark striking his face on his desk when he collapsed,” Grey said.
The statement from the Clark family says the Skype link remained open for two hours on April 30 as family and friends in the United States and Afghanistan called for help.
“After two hours and many frantic phone calls by Mrs. Clark, two military personnel arrived in the room and appeared to check his pulse, but provided no details about his condition to his wife,” the statement said.
Military officials have told NBC News that Clark died of an apparent massive heart attack. Grey says an autopsy is being done to determine the cause of death.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rebecca Ruiz is a reporter at msnbc.com. Follow her on Twitter here.
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