40 year-old Justine Damond was fatally shot by a Minneapolis police officer Saturday night after calling 911 to report a possible assault near her home, the Minneapolis Star reports.
Sources say Damond walked outside in her pajamas when two officers arrived on the scene in a police car. Damond was speaking to the officers from the driver’s side of the car when the officer from the passenger’s side door allegedly pulled out his gun and shot Damond through the driver’s side door.
The state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is currently conducting an investigation of the incident and confirmed that Damond was killed by a police officer. “The BCA’s investigation is in its early stages…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 BCA said in a press release. The two officers have been placed on paid administrative leave. No weapons were found on the scene.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges addressed the incident in a news conference yesterday, calling the incident “tragic” and wondered why police body cameras were not turned on. “I am heartsick and deeply disturbed by the fatal officer-involved shooting that happened last night,” she said. The police department later confirmed that the squad car’s camera did not record the incident either.
Damond, originally from Sydney, Australia, was living with her fiancé in Minneapolis and was a self-described “personal healer” who led yoga and meditation sessions and worked as a personal health and life coach, according to her website. The pair was due to be married next month, but Damond had already taken up her fiancé’s last name.
“My mom is dead, because a police officer shot her, for reasons I don’t know, and I demand answers,” Damond’s stepson Zach Damond said in an emotional Facebook Live Video. “I demand answers. If anybody can help, just call police and demand answers. I’m so done with all this violence.”
[Video via 7 News Sydney, Featured Image Via YouTube Screengrab]
