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The Latest: Prosecutor: 'No basis' to see Damond as threat

MINNEAPOLIS — The Latest on the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot a woman who had called 911 to report a possible crime (all times local):

10:55 a.m.

A prosecutor is attacking a former Minneapolis police officer for his decision to fire at an unarmed woman who approached his squad car.

Mohamed Noor is on trial for murder and manslaughter in the July 2017 shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. The dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia had called 911 minutes earlier to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her home. Noor has said a loud bang on the squad car led him to fear an ambush.

Prosecutor Am Sweasy grilled Noor on Friday, suggesting there was “no basis” for him to fire at Damond when he hadn’t seen her hands and didn’t know whether she had a weapon.

Noor said he “respectfully disagreed” with the prosecutor. When his own attorney asked Noor what would have happened if someone approaching the car had had a weapon, he answered that his partner would have been killed.

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Midnight:

A former Minneapolis police officer on trial in the fatal shooting of an unarmed woman will be back on the stand Friday.

Mohamed Noor hadn’t spoken publicly about the July 2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond before taking the stand Thursday.

Damond, a dual U.S.-Australia citizen, had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault behind her home. She was shot minutes later when she approached Noor’s squad car.

Noor testified Thursday that he and his partner were startled by a loud bang on their car. He said he saw a woman in a pink shirt with blond hair at his partner’s window, raising her right arm, and fired his gun “to stop the threat.”

He said his “world came crashing down” when he realized he’d shot an innocent woman.

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Check out the AP’s complete coverage of Mohamed Noor’s trial

The Associated Press