MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Details about what led a Minneapolis police officer to fatally shoot an Australian woman remained unclear Monday, with authorities saying only that officers were responding to a 911 call about a possible assault when the woman was shot.
As authorities continued to investigate, the woman’s family members released a statement Monday through Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, saying: “We are trying to come to terms with this tragedy and to understand why this has happened.”
Minneapolis authorities have not released the woman’s name. The Star Tribune (http://strib.mn/2tZtSB2 ) identified her as Justine Damond, 40, from Sydney, Australia. The newspaper reported that she was engaged to be married and had already taken her fiance’s last name. Her maiden name was Justine Ruszczyk.
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension released a statement Sunday saying two Minneapolis officers responded to the call late Saturday. At some point, an officer fired a weapon.
The Star Tribune, citing three people with knowledge of the shooting, said Damond had been the one to call 911 about a possible assault in the alley behind her house.