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 'couldn'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 couldn'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 can'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.
Justus 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 Howell in Zion in order to sell him the firearm .
But claims Howell tried to take it, and pointed weapon at him during scuffle .