No weapon found near Justine Damond after she was shot by police

No weapon was found at the scene after police fatally shot a 40-year-old Australia woman on Saturday night.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) gave a minimal update Monday on its investigation into the death of Justine Damond. The BCA noted no weapon was found, saying it "continues to examine evidence to determine the facts that led to the shooting incident."

Up to this point, neither the BCA nor Minneapolis police had commented on whether a weapon was found near or on Damond.

Not much else has been released about what led to the shooting. The BCA said the officers were wearing body cameras, but they weren't turned on. The squad car camera didn't capture the shooting either.

Damond's family says she's the one who called 911 to report a possible assault in the alley near where she lives, and she was apparently talking to one of the officers when she was shot, the Star Tribune, citing sources with knowledge of the investigation, is reporting. The paper says Damond was near the driver's side door talking to the officer when the officer in the passenger's side shot her through the door, killing her.

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges has asked the BCA to work quickly to release as much information as they can, as fast as they can. And on Monday, the mayor said she can't confirm any of the reports that have been shared on social media because "we don't want to jeopardize the BCA investigation, or compromise its independence."

"I have the same questions you do, and I seek the same answers you seek. This process is difficult, but I want to be sure we get this right," Hodges said.

Media outlets identify officers

A fewmedia outlets have identified the officer who shot Damond as Mohamed Noor, with WCCO reporting his attorney Tom Plunkett confirmed Noor fired his weapon.

“We take this seriously with great compassion for all persons who are being touched by this,” Plunkett told WCCO.

Noor joined the Minneapolis Police Department in March 2015, and became the 5th Precinct's first Somali-American police officer, a city newsletter said. When he took the job, he was "highly celebrated, particularly by the Somali community," Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges said in a Facebook post in 2016.

Noor has a degree in economics and business administration from Augsburg College, and before he joined the department he worked in property management.

The BCA says only one officer fired their weapon during the incident. KSTP has identified the second officer as Matthew Harrity, who became a community service officer in January 2016.

Both officers are on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure, the BCA says.

GoMN has reached out to Noor's attorney for more information.

Officer-involved shootings in Minnesota

This is believed to be the sixth fatal officer-involved shooting in Minnesota this year, according to the Washington Post fatal force database. Nationally, 523 people have been killed by police in 2017.

Last year, 963 people were killed by police in the U.S., including 14 people in Minnesota, the Washington Post says.