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MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Justine Damond was shot and killed by the Minneapolis police officers that responded to her 911 call reporting a possible assault in the alley of her neighborhood, according to family and community members. Monday morning, Zach Damond spoke to Fox 9, sharing his message for the officer, Mohamed Noor, who shot his stepmother.
“Why? Why did you do it? He has no idea the impact that he had on thousands of people. No idea,” Damond said. “I hope that he wakes up every single day and thinks about it, and then I hope that he thinks about how he can be a better person because that’s what she did every single day. And if you don’t do that, then you’re not even living, either, man.”
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the officer-involved shooting. According to the BCA, Noor and another Minneapolis police officer responded to a call of a possible assault around 11:30 p.m. Saturday evening in the Fulton neighborhood. At one point a Fox 9 source says Noor fired his weapon, killing the woman community members later identified as Justine Damond.
Sunday evening activists and neighbors gathered near the scene of the shooting for a vigil filled with frustration and questions over the shooting that claimed the life of the Australian national and instructor with the Lake Harriet Spiritual Community. Damond lived in the area with her fiancé and son, teaching meditation classes that her students say never failed to bring a little bit of joy into their day.
"Sadly we now [mourn the life of] Justine, a white woman living in southwest Minneapolis, who simply notified the police about an assault she was concerned about," Michelle Gross of Communities United Against Police Brutality said. "She was being a good neighbor! And she lost her life being a good neighbor."
Sunday, an activist with Women’s March Minnesota allowed Zach Damond to speak in a Facebook Live video. WARNING: Explicit language.
“Alright so basically, my mom is dead because a police officer shot her for reasons I don’t know, and I demand answers. And, if anybody can help just call the police and demand answers. I’m so done with all this violence. It’s so much bullshit. America sucks. These cops need to get trained differently, I need to move out of here.”
“I just know that she heard a sound in the alley, so then she called the police and the cops showed up. And she was a very passionate woman. And she probably – yeah, she thought there was like something bad was happening, and then the next thing I know they take my best friend’s life. So I’m just done. Fuck the police. Some of you are good, but like I’m just done, so done. This has to stop. This has to stop.”
FIRST REPORT: Woman shot, killed by police in southwest Minneapolis alley
BIG QUESTION: Why weren't the police bodycams turned on?