The shooting happened at a Burlington department store in North Hollywood. (Photo by= Getty Images) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] Los Angeles police have killed two people, including a 14-year-old girl trying on new outfits, after opening fire inside a clothing store. A stray bullet hit the teen as she was in a changing room with her mother trying on dresses for a birthday party, BBC reported.
Police say the shooting came after reports of shots being fired by a man inside the store. The suspect was shot dead, but no gun was found. The state's Department of Justice is currently investigating the shooting. The incident took place late on Thursday morning, around 11:45 local time (19:45 GMT), at a Burlington department store in North Hollywood amid a throng of holiday shoppers. Police said a 911 caller reported hearing arguing inside the store and suggested shots may have been fired. They also say they received reports of a possible active shooter on the scene.
A fire department official told reporters that officers had arrived to find "an individual who was in the process of assaulting another" on an upper level of the store, prompting them to open fire. The suspect died almost instantly. A heavy bicycle lock was found near his body, but no gun was recovered. Officers then found a hole in the nearby wall of a dressing room behind the suspect, and the teenage girl dead inside. On Friday, the LA Country Coroner's Office identified her as Valentina Orellana-Peralta.