Lab results are back in the case of a teenager who died in a police shooting in St. Louis last week , and they show gun residue on the clothing and body of Vonderrit Myers , authorities said Tuesday . The residue was found on Myers ' shirt , jeans and hand , according to a release from St. Louis police . Its presence on his hand could mean that he discharged a firearm , was near a firearm when it went off or that Myers touched something with gun residue on it , police said . People shot at close range could also have residue deposited on their hands . Myers was fatally shot Wednesday by a St. Louis officer , who was off-duty but wearing his uniform while moonlighting for a security company . Police have said the teenager fired a pistol three times at the officer . Myers ' relatives have said they do n't believe that account . The shooting sparked street protests , with residents pointing out similarities to the August killing of Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson , Missouri . Myers and Brown were both 18 and black and killed by white police officers . However , unlike Myers , authorities say Brown was not armed . `` We 're done as a police union standing in the shadows in these cases . We are actively defending the officer involved in the shooting , '' Jeff Roorda , business manger of the St. Louis Police Officers Association , told reporters Tuesday . Mother grieves for son killed in shootout . He said the gun residue results on Myers confirm the officer 's account of what happened . `` We saw in the wake of the Michael Brown Ferguson shooting that there was a public outcry , fueled largely by agitators in Ferguson where they demanded that police immediately release details , '' Roorda said . `` That happened in this case . Police immediately , as information became apparent and known to them , released these facts . ... Even with that , we still saw violence in the street , '' he said . Myers was struck by seven or eight bullets , St. Louis Medical Examiner Dr. Michael Graham said last week . Police say the officer fired his pistol 17 times . `` All but one gunshot wound were to the lower extremities , '' Graham said . `` The one fatal wound was to the head . ''
Michael Brown , last week , was fatally shot by an officer 18 . Police say he fired a pistol one times at the officer . The shooting sparked angry street protests in St. Louis .