Justine Damond, age 40, was shot and killed by police in the alley behind her Minneapolis residence on Saturday. Minneapolis police have yet to offer an explanation regarding the circumstances of her death. The Washington Post reports, so far in 2017, 543 people have been killed by police in the US.
“Two Minneapolis police officers responded to a 911 call of a possible assault… just before 11:30 PM on Saturday,” reads a news release by Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). “At one point, an officer fired their weapon, fatally striking a woman.”
Justine Damond, née Ruszczyk, taught yoga and meditation and was also a veterinarian trained at the University of Sydney. Damond had moved to the United States to marry her fiancee, Don Damond. She resided with Mr. Damond and his 22-year-old son, Zach.
In response to her death, Mr. Damond said, “Our hearts are broken… she touched so many people with her loving, generous heart”.
What is known is that, in her pajamas, Damond had approached the driver’s side door of the police squad car in the alley at the 5000 block of Washburn. She was shot in the abdomen through the window by the officer in the passenger’s seat, Mohamed Noor, a Somali-American. The officers attempted to resuscitate her with CPR. No weapons were discovered at the scene.
Damond’s soon-to-be stepson, Zach, arrived on the scene and gave the following statement to reporters: “Basically, my mom’s dead because a police officer shot her for reasons I don’t know. I demand answers. If anybody can help, just call police and demand answers. I’m so done with all this violence.”
Minneapolis Mayor Hodges also released a statement regarding the murder, saying ”I am heartsick and deeply disturbed by the fatal officer-involved shooting… We have few facts at this point… I want to know more. I call on the BCA to share as much information with all of us as quickly as they can. I have questions about why the body cams weren’t on.”
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