Mohammed Noor shot 50-year-old Justine Damond on Saturday night through the driver’s side door of his squad car, fatally striking her in the abdomen. He and another officer were reportedly responding to a 911 call Damond placed regarding a possible sexual assault.
"Two Minneapolis police officers responded to a 911 call of a possible assault just north of the 5100 block of Washburn Avenue S. just before 11:30 p.m. Saturday," Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a release on Monday, adding that the officer’s body cameras were not on during the shooting. Investigators are trying to determine whether there is any video of the incident.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges held a news conference on Sunday afternoon, where she called the shooting "tragic."
"I am heartsick and deeply disturbed by the fatal officer-involved shooting that happened last night," she told reporters.
Damond’s given name was Justine Ruszczyk, but she had already taken on the name of her fiancee, 50-year-old Don Damond, whom she was scheduled to marry next month. The Sydney native’s now-private website said that she was "originally trained as a veterinarian" and that she "has also studied and practiced yoga and meditation for over 17 years, is a qualified yoga instructor, a personal health and life coach and meditation teacher, embracing and teaching the neuro-scientific benefits of meditation."
Don’s 22-year-old son Zach Damond said in a video posted on Facebook Live, "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."
Noor, who was one of nine Somali officers in the Minneapolis Police Department, joined the force in 2015. He is being sued for incident that took place on May 25, by a woman who claims he injured her when he “grabbed her right wrist and upper arm” while transporting her to the hospital with other officers.
Noor "came to the United States at a young age and is thankful to have had so many opportunities," according to a statement by the officer’s attorney, Thomas Plunkett, who said that the officer "extends his condolences to the family and anyone else who has been touched by this event. He takes their loss seriously and keeps them in his daily thoughts and prayers."
