The Defense Department is calling Durkin's death a "non-combat-related incident."
According to the Boston Globe:
The Massachusetts National Guard initially reported that Durkin was killed in action, though a Guard spokesman later said the term meant only that Durkin was serving in Afghanistan at the time.
Durkin's sister, Fiona Canavan, one of nine siblings in the family, has concerns that the shooting could have been related to Durkin's sexuality: "Ciara was a lesbian, and that's bound to come out. It is possible that someone over there found that out, and, you know, maybe they were very homophobic."
Canavan added: "She did say to us that she had concerns about things she was seeing when she was over there. She told us if anything happened to her, that we were to investigate it."
