Months Before Minneapolis Shooting Answers Expected

Justine Damond, also known as Justine Ruszczyk, originally from Sydney, is seen in this 2015 photo released by Stephen Govel Photography in New York, July 17, 2017.

The fatal shooting Saturday of Australia-born Minnesota woman Justine Damond by a police officer could go unanswered for months, as Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he will ask authorities in the U.S. about the “inexplicable” death. Turnbull also said his government is determined to find out what “went tragically wrong,” it was reported Wednesday.

"How can a woman out in the street in her pyjamas seeking assistance be shot like that?" he told the Australian Nine network, according to the BBC.

Damond, who was born as Justine Ruszcyk but had already taken on her fiancé’s last name, called 911 to report a possible assault in Hennepin County but was fatally shot by one of the officers answering the call.

The 40-year-old Damond had reportedly approached the police car on the driver’s side when officer Mohamed Noor fired his weapon from the passenger’s side, striking her in the abdomen.

In what has become a major alarm raised by many now, the cameras that every police officer, as well as their squad cars in Minneapolis, is equipped with, were not activated and the incident was not recorded, BBC reported. It is one of several unanswered questions about the incident.

Meanwhile, spokesman for the Hennepin County attorney’s office, Chuck Laszewski, said it could take between two and four months before the investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is completed.

Read: Audio Released From Justine Diamond Shooting In Minneapolis

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges said she wanted to know what the officer who shot Damond had to say but could not legally compel him to do so. The officer in question, Mohamed Noor, decided to exercise his constitutional right, allowing him to not speak to BCA, and his lawyer, Thomas Plunkett did not say if or when he will, according to CNN.

Noor’s lawyer issued a statement Tuesday, but it was not an explanation of what happened. It said 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,” The Guardian reported.

Mayor Betsy Hodges said in a news conference Tuesday, "He has a story to tell that no one else can tell. We can't compel him by law, but I wish that he would make that statement," CNN reported.

The handling of the incident has led to growing community anger, especially after it was revealed that Mohamed Noor already had two open investigations into his police conduct.

With the Minneapolis police chief away on leave, her deputy, Medaria Arradondo said he was unaware Noor was under investigation, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Unlike his partner, officer Matthew Harrity did speak to investigators and told them the two were “startled by a loud sound” near their squad car moments before the shooting. Media reports and audio from police radio have suggested that it might have been fireworks.

Read: Laquan McDonald Case Leads To 3 Chicago Officers Being Charged With Felony

Mayor Betsy Hodges also made an appeal to an 18-to-25-year-old white male cyclist who was at the scene, according to Harrity, watching as they tried to provide medical assistance to Damond.

“There was someone, an 18- to 25-year-old male who was there who may have some information. I would implore this person to come forward,” she said.

Justine Damond was originally from Sydney and was about to get married to her American fiancé Don Damond next month. His son Zach Damond had said the entire incident resulting in the tragic shooting began after she "heard a noise in the alley and called the police."

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