A Minneapolis police officer shot and killed a 15-year-old boy early Sunday morning who police say was armed with a pellet gun that resembled a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun. Courtney Williams, a sophomore at Edison High School, died Sunday morning of his gunshot wounds, his family said. Officer Scott Mars, the seven-year veteran of the force who pulled the trigger, is on paid administrative leave as required by department policy. Within hours of the shooting, Chief William McManus met with community leaders at his own home in an effort to defuse neighborhood criticism. It was two years ago that a police shooting just four blocks away in the Jordan neighborhood prompted a night of rioting. On Sunday, Courtney's family was grieving and angry. They say Courtney was a good kid just hanging out with buddies when he was shot. They question the actions of police sent to the scene. "If it was a different community, he would have been talked to instead of shot first," said Jemel Brewer, Courtney's uncle. Family members said they also doubt police reports that Courtney was carrying a pellet gun. At a press conference, McManus said the shooting was under investigation and released few details. McManus said officers responded to report of a person with a gun in the 3000 block of Knox Avenue North shortly after midnight. The person was described as a black male with a red shirt. When officers arrived, they saw a person matching that description. "The officer was heard by at least one witness ordering the person to drop the gun. Two shots were heard by those witnesses immediately after the command was given," McManus said. A police report said officers ordered Courtney to drop the gun. He ran, then "turned toward the officers with the gun," the report said. [more
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