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According to a search warrant obtained from Hennepin County District Court by Minneapolis Public Radio and the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the white woman, Justine Ruszczyk, allegedly killed by a black Somali and Muslim cop, Mohamed Noor, slapped the back of his patrol car just before the shooting. If this is the case, then the signs appearing around Minneapolis that say "Warning: Twin Cities Police Easily Startled" must be taken seriously. And it's not just the cops in the Twin Cities, but all over the US. Cops are the kind of human animal that's easily startled and scared to death.

If the cop who killed Justine Ruszczyk states in court that he fired his weapon because the slap on the back of his police car made him fear for his life, it should be more than enough for his acquittal. The officer who shot Philando Castile also said that he feared for his life.

And so we are seeing a lot structural similarities between the death of Justine Ruszczyk and that of Philando Castile. But the big difference is, of course, their skin color (the former is white, the latter black), and the US would not be the US if skin color didn't matter. It legally, politically, and economically makes a big difference. Already, the chief of Minneapolis Police Department, Janeé Harteau, resigned because of the death of a white woman. No higher-ups resigned after Castile was shot and killed.


However, Valerie Castile—Philando's mother—attended a rally for Justine Ruszczy, bonded with Justine's fiancee, Don Damond, and told a reporter that "this is not a black or white thing. This is a human being thing." Another structural connection between Castile and Ruszczy was made when the family of the latter hired the Minneapolis attorney who represented the family of the former. CNN: "Although the St. Anthony police officer who shot Castile was acquitted of manslaughter, [attorney] Bennett negotiated a $3 million settlement with the city of St. Anthony, a Minneapolis suburb."

Meanwhile, on another side of town, Abdi Warsame, a Minneapolis city council member and community leader, said to reporters during a press conference that he has "heard others describe this tragedy as a terrorist act, as a Muslim against a Christian.” Racists on the internet are fiercely attacking his community. People are nervous and worried. What will happen next? This story, as you can see, is getting more and more complicated.