Aussie dad demands justice for daughter’s shooting death
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The father of an Australian woman who was fatally shot by Minneapolis police is demanding justice for his daughter’s death.
John Ruszczyk told reporters in Sydney yesterday that his daughter Justine Damond “was a beacon to all of us.”
He then asked that “the light of justice shine down on the circumstances of her death.”
Authorities have released no details about what led to the shooting.
A Minnesota county medical examiner’s office says a woman who was fatally shot by Minneapolis police over the weekend died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner classified the death of 40-year-old Justine Ruszczyk of Minneapolis as a homicide.
Authorities initially didn’t release the woman’s name, but the Star
Tribune identified her as Justine Damond from Sydney, Australia.
The newspaper reported that she was engaged to be married in August and was using her fiance’s last name.
Police said officers were responding to a call about a possible assault late Saturday when she was killed. Authorities have released no details about what led to the shooting.
Her fiance had said she had called 911 to report what she believed was a sexual assault in an alley near her home.
Justine Damond’s death is front page news in her Sydney hometown newspaper The Daily Telegraph, which reported the tragedy under the headline: “American Nightmare.”
The newspaper reports that she graduated at Sydney University as a veterinary surgeon before her love of meditation and yoga overtook her career.
Sydney friend Marcus Ritchie told
The Australian newspaper that Damond was “one of the world’s most caring and sensitive souls.”
The Sydney-based national newspaper also reported the police shooting on its front page.
Mohamed Noor was identified by his attorney earlier Monday as the Minneapolis officer who fired the shots that killed Justine Damond.
Damond’s fiance says she had called 911 Saturday night to report a sexual assault in the alley behind their house. Soon after, she was shot.
In a statement to WCCO-TV, the Somali-American officer says he came to the US at a young age and appreciates the opportunities he’s gotten.
He says he considers being a police officer a calling, and became one to serve and protect the community.
Noor’s attorney hasn’t returned calls from The Associated Press.
Damond’s death is being investigated by Minnesota’s state investigative agency.