A 17-year-old boy who was shot dead from behind by a police officer had just stolen a handgun , according to the police department in question . Justus Howell was gunned down from behind by an officer in Zion , Illinois on Saturday afternoon after officers were called to reports of an argument . The chief of the Zion Police Department has now said that the argument was in fact a scuffle over a handgun - during which the firearm went off and Howell allegedly pointed it at another teenager . Killed : Justus Howell , 17 , was shot twice in the back by police in Zion , Illinois , on Saturday afternoon . 'Stole a handgun ' : Police say that Howell had just taken a weapon from Tramond Peet , 18 , who was trying to sell it to him . Steve Dumyahn said Howell was struggling over a gun with Tramond Peet , 18 , and started running when police showed up . Peet told officers he met Howell with the intention of selling him the gun - but Howell tried to snatch it without paying . He then claimed the two tussled over the weapon , which was fired into the ground . At one point , he said , Howell was pointing it at him . Peet told investigators that he let go of the gun when he heard sirens . He said Howell ran and that he heard officers shouting instructions , then opening fire . An autopsy on Howell revealed that he was hit by two bullets , both from behind . Aftermath : Investigators are pictured above at the scene of the shooting , which took place around 2pm . One his his left side and penetrated his heart , spleen and liver . The second hit him on the right side of his back . Tests to see whether there were drugs in Howell 's body are not finished yet . In the wake of his death , Howell 's mother LaToya told Fox News her son 'could n't have been a threat ' . She said : 'Justus was a young man murdered by Zion police ' . 'As he was fleeing from police , they killed my son . He could n't have been a threat if he was running . ' Peet appeared in court Monday on two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon . He is being held on a $ 15,000 bond . Dumyahn said the Zion Police Department was releasing the narrative from the shooting because media outlets had linked Peet 's case to the shooting . He said the department has 'no desire to defame the deceased ' . Courts : Peet appeared in court Monday charged with two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon . Claim : Zion Police chief Steve Dumyahn said the department had 'no desire to defame ' Howell , but released the details because media outlets realized his case and Peet 's are connected . Dumyahn said the officer who shot Howell is a nine-year veteran , and is now on administrative leave . He did not release the officer 's name or any additional information about him , including his race . Lake County NAACP president Jennifer Witherspoon said his relatives have asked her organization to speak on their behalf . Witherspoon said authorities told the NAACP that they have videotape of the scuffle between Peet and Howell but ca n't yet say what led the officer to shoot Howell . She said Howell 's relatives are hoping to find out exactly what happened as quickly as possible . She said : 'Whether it was a mistake on his part or a mistake on the police 's part , they want answers to make sure something like this never happens again ' . Howell 's death is the latest in a series of unarmed black men being killed by police officers - the most high-profile example of which was the death of Michael Brown at the hands of Darren Wilson in Ferguson , Missouri . Witherspoon added : 'Here in America we are seeing this with too many brown and black boys . ' Zion is a community of about 24,000 people along Lake Michigan , 45 miles north of Chicago , near Illinois ' border with Wisconsin . Howell was a high school junior who transferred from a school in Wisconsin to Waukegan Public School District 60 .
HowellJustus Howell was shot dead on Saturday afternoon in Zion , Illinois . Police now claim he was fleeing after trying to steal a handgun . Tramond Peet , 18 , said he met Justus Howell in Zion in order to sell him the firearm . But claims Justus Howell tried to take it , and pointed weapon at him during scuffle .