Family on both sides of the Pacific want answers from Minneapolis police.
MINNEAPOLIS — A woman that a Minneapolis police officer killed in the alley behind her home died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen in a homicide, the county medical examiner said late Monday.
Justine Ruszczyk Damond, 40, a bride-to-be who was to be wed in August and already had begun using her fiancé’s surname, was shot Saturday after calling 911 to report what she believed was a sexual assault in progress nearby.
“We lost the dearest of people and we are desperate for information.” Her fiancé, Don Damond, said police have provided him and his family little information regarding what happened after police arrived.
Justine Damond, originally trained as a veterinarian, came to Minneapolis about three years ago to be with her fiancé, and she had been teaching and speaking at the Lake Harriet Spiritual Community in Minneapolis for more than two years, said Nancy Coune, administrator at the center.
A Minneapolis police officer on the force since March 2015, Mohamed Noor, has been identified as one who pulled the trigger, reportedly from the passenger seat of his squad car. He and his partner, who has not been identified, have been placed on paid administrative leave while the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigates the case.
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Other than the two officers in the squad car, no witnesses have come forward. A newspaper report said Justine Damond was shot while standing alongside the car in her pajamas.
The neighborhood where the shooting occurred is a mix of middle- and upper-middle-class homes about a half mile from city lakes that are a popular destination for residents and tourists.
“We thought yesterday was our worst nightmare, but we awoke to the ugly truth and it hurt even more, ” John Ruszczyk, Justine Damond’s father, told reporters in Sydney, Australia. “Justine was a beacon to all of us. We only ask that the light of justice shine down on the circumstances of her death.”
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Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges said early Tuesday that she, too, wants answers.
“I have the same questions everybody has: ‘What happened?’ ” Hodges said in an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America .
Damond’s death is the latest high-profile police shooting in the Twin Cities area in recent years.
• Last year, 32-year-old Philando Castile was killed by an officer during a traffic stop in a nearby suburb after he told the officer he was armed. • And in November 2015, a Minneapolis police officer shot and killed Jamar Clark during a struggle in which the officer said Clark grabbed his partner’s weapon.
Noor’s lawyer, Tom Plunkett, released a statement saying Noor offered his condolences to the family “and keeps them in his daily thoughts and prayers.”
“Officer Noor is a caring person with a family he loves, and he empathizes with the loss others are experiencing, ” the statement said.
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Noor was sued earlier this year after a May 25 incident in which he and other officers took a woman to the hospital for an apparent mental health crisis.
The lawsuit claims Noor and the other officers violated the woman’s rights when they entered her home without permission and Noor grabbed her wrist and upper arm. Noor relaxed his grip when the woman said she had a previous shoulder injury, the lawsuit said.
State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension officials released a statement Monday saying that no weapons were found at the scene and that they are working to interview the two officers involved, acknowledging that an officer fired his weapon, killing Justine Damond.
The officers’ body cameras were not turned on at the time and their squad car’s camera did not capture the incident, so state investigators are trying to determine whether any other video of the incident exists.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said he will review state investigators findings to determine whether either officer should be charged in Damond’s death. He wouldn’t comment on the broader case but said both officers should have switched on their cameras when Justine Damond approached them in the alley.
Police Chief Janee Harteau called the killing a “tragic death” and said she understands why the community has questions.
“I’ ve asked for the investigation to be expedited to provide transparency and to answer as many questions as quickly as we can, ” Harteau said.
“Piecing together the moments before Justine’s homicide would be would be a small comfort as we grieve this tragedy, ” Don Damond said.
Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Kent Erdahl on Twitter: @kenterdahl
