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Fireworks may have startled Justine Damond's killer, US police officer Mohamed Noor

Rachel Browne

The US police officers involved in the killing of Australian woman Justine Damond were startled by a loud sound near their squad car before she was shot at close range.

Officer Mohamed Noor, who opened fire on Ms Damond near her Minneapolis home on Saturday, is refusing to be interviewed by authorities investigating the tragedy but his partner Matthew Harrity has given a graphic account of what happened.

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Emotional vigil for Justine

Family and friends have gathered to remember Justine Damond who was shot and killed by a US police officer, while the PM says the government is pushing for answers.

In an interview with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Officer Harrity described how the 40-year-old Australian woman, also known as Justine Ruszczyk, was gunned down.

Officer Harrity, who was driving, with Officer Noor in the passenger seat, told investigators he heard a loud sound immediately before Ms Damond approached the driver's side window of the squad car.

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"Officer Harrity indicated that he was startled by a loud sound near the squad [car]," the statement from the BCA read.

"Immediately afterward Ruszczyk approached the driver's side window of the squad [car]. Harrity indicated that Officer Noor discharged his weapon, striking Ruszczyk through the open driver's side window.

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"The officers immediately exited the squad [car] and provided medical attention until medical personnel arrived. Ruszczyk was pronounced dead at the scene."

Ms Damond, a popular former veterinarian, originally from Sydney's northern beaches, called police at 11.28pm on Saturday when she heard a woman's screams near her Minneapolis house.

She feared a sexual assault was taking place. When Ms Damond approached Officer Noor's squad car in her pyjamas, he shot her in the stomach from the passenger seat of his police car.

Ms Damond was unarmed but was believed to have been carrying a mobile phone.

Fresh revelations about the possible setting off of fireworks near where she was killed could provide an explanation as to why Officer Noor fired.

A source with knowledge of Minneapolis law enforcement, who asked not to be identified, said it "would be good common sense to investigate" the fireworks link.

The sound of fireworks may have startled Officer Noor.

The reference to fireworks is heard during the police radio conversations between Officer Noor, Officer Harrity, the police dispatcher co-ordinating the emergency call and other officers rushing to scene.

At one point, the dispatcher asks for a precinct sergeant to acknowledge a report of "two shots heard from the east".

"We heard those sounds from the station," an officer responds. "Those are probably aerial fireworks."

Pressure is mounting on US authorities to explain how Ms Damond was gunned down outside her home after making an emergency call.

Minneapolis Attorney Mike Freeman, the country's chief law officer, has been demanding an explanation from the police but told Channel Nine they have not been overly co-operative.

"We are hoping in the very near future they will talk but until they do we don't know," he said.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the government wanted an explanation for the "tragic killing" of the Sydney-born yoga teacher, who was due to marry her American fiance, Don Damond, in August.

"This is a shocking killing," he told Channel Nine. "It's inexplicable.

"How can a woman out in the street in her pyjamas seeking assistance from the police be shot like that? We are demanding answers on behalf of her family. It's truly a tragic killing there in Minneapolis. Something clearly went tragically wrong. It seems inexplicable. It's a tragic loss."

Mr Turnbull expressed his sympathy to Ms Damond's grieving family and friends.

"Our love, our condolences, our sympathy go out to her family who suffered this terrible loss," he said.

 Australian consul-general in Chicago, Michael Wood, is in talks with US authorities to find out why Officer Noor opened fire.

Minneapolis Assistant Police Chief Medaria Arradondo​ addressed a lengthy press conference on Tuesday local time, accompanied by Mayor Betsy Hodges, telling media they could not release more information until the independent BCA investigation was complete.

Mr Arradondo defended the officers involved, saying they were fully qualified and describing the shooting as an "isolated case".

He said an internal review was under way, which would include the use of force and address why the officers' body cameras were switched off when Ms Damond was shot.

A transcript of the 911 emergency call would also be made public, he said.

Ms Hodges urged Officer Noor to speak to the BCA but conceded he could not be compelled to do so.

"We can't force the officer to make a statement but I wish that he would," she said. "There are big questions. We all want answers to those questions."

Earlier on Tuesday, she told Good Morning America: "I don't know what the answers are.

"That's the trade-off of an independent investigation. We aren't in charge of it.

"I know the BCA is doing the best they can and moving as swiftly as they can.

"I hope they release as much information as they can as swiftly as they can."

Ms Hodges, who fought to force Minneapolis police to wear body cameras after several previous high-profile incidents in the city, said the failure to have them switched on was one of the key questions of the investigation.

A heartbroken Mr Damond spoke out on Monday, criticising law enforcement for failing to offer details on why Officer Noor shot his fiancee.

With AAP

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