Former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor was moved from the Hennepin County jail to a state prison Thursday as he awaits sentencing for the fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond.

Sheriff's office spokesman Edgar Linares said Noor was pre-emptively transferred for security reasons.

According to jail records, Noor was released from the jail at 6 p.m. Thursday, two days after he was found guilty of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Damond's death. He was ordered held in custody before his June 7 sentencing.

Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) records show that Noor was taken to the state prison in Oak Park Heights, where he will be held pending sentencing.

The move was made after Hennepin County authorities asked the DOC to house Noor, said DOC spokeswoman Sarah Fitzgerald.

"We assess the safety and security of all the individuals we incarcerate," she said. "In this case, we determined Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights to be the most appropriate placement, because as our maximum-security facility, it has the appropriate security measures in place to handle unique and high-profile security situations."

Noor was convicted of fatally shooting Damond after he and his partner responded to a 911 call about a possible sexual assault behind her south Minneapolis home. He was found not guilty of the most serious charge, second-degree murder.

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