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A 14-year-old girl has died in a Los Angeles clothing store dressingroom after police opened fire on an assault suspect.
Police also fatally shot the suspect at the Burlington store in the North Hollywood area of the San Fernando Valley, authorities said.
Witnesses told KCBS-TV that a man began acting erratically, threatening to throw items from the upper floor, and attacked a woman with a bicycle lock while the store was crowded with holiday shoppers.
Officers answered a report of an assault and others of shots being fired, police said. Investigators have not found a gun at the scene.
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The suspect was shot and died at the store but one of the bullets went through drywall behind the man and killed the girl.
Officers found the teenager dead after seeing a hole in "a solid wall that you can't see behind", Los Angeles Police Department assistant chief Dominic Choi said.
The Los Angeles County coroner identified the girl as Valentina Orellana-Peralta. The suspect’s name has not yet been released.
Investigators did not immediately know whether she was in the dressingroom before the violence began or ran in there to hide, he said.
“This chaotic incident resulting in the death of an innocent child is tragic and devastating for everyone involved,” police chief Michel Moore said in a statement late on Thursday night.
“I am profoundly sorry for the loss of this young girl’s life and I know there are no words that can relieve the unimaginable pain for the family.”
Moore promised a “thorough, complete and transparent investigation” into the shooting and said a critical incident video that will include 911 calls, body camera and other video will be released by Monday.
The woman who was attacked is not being identified.
Investigators were trying to determine whether the assault was random or targeted. Choi said they do not believe the teenager was related to the person who was attacked.
Police found a heavy metal cable lock near the suspect, he said.
The California Department of Justice was investigating the shooting, attorney-general Rob Bonta said.
News reports showed a woman with a bloodied face, who appeared to be the assault victim, being placed in an ambulance.
The victim was taken to the hospital with moderate to serious injuries, Fire Department spokesperson Nicholas Prange said. Choi said she had wounds to her head, arms and face. – AP