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The US police officer who fatally shot Aussie woman Justine Damond in the abdomen outside her Minneapolis home on Saturday has finally broken his silence.
Mohamed Noor, 31, told friends he was ‘startled’ by the victim seconds before he opened fire through his driver-partner’s open window, Daily Mail reports.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a source close to the officer told the publication that he pulled the trigger after an unidentified figure emerged from the dark and ran towards their squad car.
Noor explained that he couldn’t be sure whether the person was carrying a weapon at the time and that the situation was tense as he and his colleague Matthew Harrity had been spooked ‘by a large sound.’
It was later confirmed that the 40-year-old bride-to-be was unarmed and had called 911 to report a sexual assault in the alley behind the home where she lived with her fiancé and son.
The friend told Daily Mail: “Mohamed believes he acted to protect himself and his colleague.”
“It was over in seconds and it was a very tense moment. He is sorry for the woman and her family.”
“But he would never have opened fire without genuinely feeling in danger.”
Noor’s comments come after the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BHA) said in a statement that he had declined to be interviewed.
The fact that he has disclosed his version of events to friends is sure to raise questions of his conduct.
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