SYDNEY — Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called the fatal shooting of an Australian woman by a Minneapolis police officer over the weekend “shocking” and “inexplicable” and said his diplomats were seeking answers from US authorities.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Tuesday confirmed details of the shooting of Sydney native Justine Damond that have been reported in media accounts and also confirmed the identities of the two police officers involved in the incident.

Damond died of a single gunshot wound to the abdomen, fired through an open window of the patrol car, after two police officers responded to a call she made of a possible assault in her neighborhood, the agency said.

Turnbull said in a television interview on Wednesday morning in Australia (Tuesday evening in the United States) that he and the Australian consul-general in Chicago were seeking answers.

“How can a woman out in the street in her pajamas seeking assistance be shot like that?” the prime minister said in the interview with Nine Network. “It is a shocking killing, and yes, we are demanding answers on behalf of her family.”

Meanwhile, family and friends attended a silent vigil on a Sydney beach. Dozens carried candles as they gathered at Freshwater Beach on Wednesday morning and the nearly 300 mourners threw pink flowers into the ocean for Damond.

Her family said in a statement, “We’re here to come together as a community around our beautiful Justine to honor her life, share our love and mourn her death.”

Damond was a meditation teacher and life coach who was planning to be married next month.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which reviews shootings involving Minneapolis police, was seeking civilian video of the incident.

The incident unfolded as Officers Mohamed Noor and Matthew Harrity were driving through an alley near where the shooting occurred, searching for a suspect, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said.

At one point, Harrity told investigators, he was startled by a loud sound near the patrol car. Immediately afterward, Damond approached the driver’s side of the squad car and Noor, who was in the passenger seat, fired his weapon through the open driver’s-side window, striking Noor, the agency said.

The agency said Noor, with the police department for 21 months, and Harrity, a one-year veteran, have been placed on administrative leave.

State investigators said agents interviewed Harrity on Tuesday. They said Noor has declined to be interviewed, adding that Noor’s attorney did not provide information on when or if the officer would be available for questioning.

Noor’s lawyer, Tom Plunkett, did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement released earlier on Tuesday, Plunkett said that Noor extends his condolences to Damond’s family. — Reuters