police officers have shot dead an Australian woman who reportedly called 911 after hearing a noise near her home in Minneapolis.
Minnesota’s public safety department said a woman was shot in Minneapolis after two officers responded to a callout about a possible assault on Saturday at 11.30pm local time. The police officers did not have their body cameras turned on.
The woman has been named as Justine Damond, who ran meditation workshops at the Lake Harriet Spiritual Community. Damond, originally Justine Ruszczyk, used the name of the man she was due to marry in August, Don Damond.
Her stepson, Zac Damond, said she had called police after hearing a noise near her house.
“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 11.30pm Saturday,” the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a statement, according to media reports. “At one point, an officer fired their weapon, fatally striking a woman.
“The BCA’s investigation is in its early stages. More information will be available once initial interviews with incident participants and any witnesses are complete … The officers’ body cameras were not turned on at the time and the squad camera did not capture the incident. Investigators are attempting to determine whether any video of the incident exists.”
The two officers involved are on paid administrative leave.
