A Missouri family is demanding answers after a white woman was shot dead during a traffic stop by an officer she allegedly threatened to shoot - but police say they don't know whether she even had a gun.  

Hannah Fizer, 25, was killed on Saturday night in Sedalia, a city of 21,700 residents about 90 miles southeast of Kansas City.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol, which is investigating the shooting, said an unnamed sheriff's deputy shot Fizer after she claimed she had a gun and threatened to use it on him.  

'The suspect allegedly threatened the deputy by stating she was armed and going to shoot him,' MSHP said in a news release. 'The incident escalated and the deputy discharged his weapon, striking the suspect.'

Fizer's father, John Fizer, said Monday that she never carried a gun and he doesn't believe she became belligerent with the officer. 

He suspects his daughter had her phone in her hand 'because she always had her phone in her hand.'

John Fizer said he couldn't imagine what could have occurred to lead the deputy to shoot his daughter, and he questioned why the deputy didn't use a taser instead.