LOS ANGELES – Bodycam footage of the “chaotic” police shooting of a teenager in a crowded California department store was expected to be released today, as criticism swelled that officers were all too ready to open fire.
Fourteen-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta was trying on clothes in a changing room when a stray bullet came through the wall and hit her, killing her instantly.
Orellana-Peralta was shopping in a Los Angeles store with her mother in the pre-Christmas rush, buying clothes for her “quinceanera”, the coming-of-age ceremony celebrated by Latin Americans.
Police say they were called to the Burlington Coat Factory in North Hollywood on Thursday because of reports of a possible shooting.
There they found a woman with a number of injuries, as well as a man they believe had attacked her, at whom at least one officer opened fire, killing him.
Valentina was hit and killed by a bullet that missed the suspect and went through a changing room wall. She died at the scene.
Police chief Michel Moore said he had ordered a full investigation, and would be releasing bodycam footage of the incident.
“This chaotic incident resulting in the death of an innocent child is tragic and devastating for everyone involved,” he said.
“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.”
Local media reported that no guns had been found at the scene, and that the woman who had been assaulted had been struck with a heavy metal padlock.
Hispanic civil rights group Lulac said responding officers had acted recklessly.
“It is indefensible that trained Los Angeles police officers could open fire in a crowded store at the height of Christmas shopping without first knowing for sure if the suspect was armed,” said president Domingo Garcia.
The shooting is the latest in a country where law enforcement readily resorts to deadly force when confronting criminal suspects.
There is no official national record of fatal shootings by United States police officers, and reporting of incidents by police departments is voluntary.
A tally by the Washington Post published yesterday shows more than 900 people have been shot and killed by police in the last year. – AFP, December 28, 2021
