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Australia closely monitoring Justine Damond case

The police shooting death of Justine Damond was front-page news across Australia when it happened. Now that the officer who pulled the trigger is charged, Aussie reporters are back in the Twin Cities closely following the case.

MINNEAPOLIS - As former Minneapolis Police Officer Mohamed Noor was released from jail Wednesday night, one of the many reporters asking him questions was Australia's Ashlee Mullany.

Mullany is in the Twin Cities with her crew from 7 Network Sydney, an NBC affiliate, as the shooting death of Justine Damond continues to be big news Down Under.

"I think it is hard for us to understand how something like this has happened in the first place," Mullany said.

An Australian article published Thursday says on average, only six to eight people are killed by police firearms each year, compared to at least 1200 each year in the U.S.

RELATED: Mpls. officer charged with murder in Justine Damond case

"They want to know how, like I said, a woman standing there in her pajamas, unarmed, who has called 911, as Mike Freeman said doing her civic duty to report what she felt was a threat, has become the victim. That's what's difficult for people to understand. That's what it really comes down to," Mullany said.

Justine grew up in Australia before meeting her fiance Don Damond and moving to the Twin Cities. Her parents and even the Australian prime minister are demanding answers.

Mohamed Noor (Credit: Hennepin County Jail)

"Our prime minister at the time described it as shocking and inexplicable and said he wanted some answers on behalf of the family too," Mullany said.

Mullany says she expects her homeland to follow Muhamed Noor's police case very closely. As Australian pundits continue to ask how the two countries can be so different when it comes to gun deaths such as this one.

Mohamed Noor is scheduled to be back in court in May. No trial date has been set yet. But for reference, in the Officer Jeronimo Yanez case, it took more than 10 months from the time he was charged for the trial to begin.

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