The relatives of an autistic boywho was shot and fatally wounded by police officers while he was outside his home holding a garden tool, they are asking for more transparency from California authorities investigating the incident, the family’s attorney said Tuesday.

Ryan Gainer, a 15-year-old African-American, was killed Saturday afternoon in Apple Valley, a community northeast of Los Angeles.

He was shot by at least one of the San Bernardino County police officers who rushed to his home after being referred for what DeWitt Lacy, the family’s attorney, called a mental health crisis.

The sheriff’s office released the call one of Ryan’s sisters made to 911 asking for help. In this, voices are heard in the background, while the girl on the phone says that her brother is hitting one of her sisters and holding a piece of glass, which at one point he also brought to his neck, threatening to use it.

The girl on the phone says her brother is “committing assault” and is asking the police to come “to arrest him”.

“The social safety net for those facing mental health issues needs to be strengthened,” Sheriff Shannon Dickus said in a statement about the incident yesterday. “Most calls like this don’t end in violence. However, it ended in tragedy for Ryan, his family and the police.”

Lacey explained that the incident began when the boy’s parents refused to allow him to play video games or listen to music until he finished his chores, causing Ryan to throw a tantrum.

The family’s lawyer added that his father was able to calm Ryan down, but he became agitated again when officers arrived at the home. The 15-year-old boy ran out toward them, holding a kind of rake, specialized for removing weeds.

According to the sheriff’s office version, Ryan “picked up the tool and ran” toward one of the officers, who retreated, while the boy chased him, trying to “attack him.”

“We’ll shoot you”

CCTV footage from officers’ body cameras shows Ryan running towards one of them holding the tool, while the other walks away and can be heard shouting “back off, we’re going to shoot you”. He then points his gun at the boy. His colleague also appears to have pointed his gun at Ryan. No video shows the moment the officers fired.

The sheriff’s office said officers immediately administered first aid to Ryan. However, the family’s lawyer disputes this version, complaining that they left the boy covered in blood on the ground without help for five minutes, while not allowing relatives and neighbors to approach him.

Lacey added that officers asked the entire family out of their home, which they searched.

Ryan succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. An autopsy has not yet been completed, but Lacey said a doctor who examined the boy told the family he choked on his own vomit, which the attorney said means if he had gotten first aid right away, he would have saved.

Lacey also added that the sheriff’s office has not yet given the family all of the footage from the officers’ body cameras or communications between the center and the officers.

The lawyer said the sheriff’s office knew Ryan was autistic, as officers had been called to his home five or six times before to deal with his other outbursts.

The family believes the 15-year-old was shot three times.