Los Angeles Police Officer shot a teenage girl to death after he tried to arrest a suspect in a shooting incident at a departmental store.
Police say that the 14-year old girl was attacked by a male customer and had been shot in her store room. The male suspect, who was hit by the officer and declared dead on the spot, was treated at a local hospital. “moderate to serious injuries,”According to LA fire officials.
“As officers contacted the suspect and [the shooting] occurred, one of the officer’s rounds penetrated a wall that was behind the suspect, beyond that wall was a dressing room,”In a statement, the department claimed. “Officers [searched] the dressing room and found a 14 year old female victim who was struck by gunfire.”
The officers claim that they responded to an assault call around 11.45am local time and then opened fire in the shop on the suspect shortly afterwards.
The motive for the shooting remains a mystery. LAPD Assistant Chief Dominic Choi stated that the suspect did not have a firearm but had been armed with a knife. “steel or metal cable lock”As a weapon. Choi further explained that Choi was describing the incident from the point of view the officer who had shot the teen. “You can’t see into the dressing rooms and it just looks like a straight wall.”
Michel Moore, the Police Chief, was not in town when the shooting occurred. He called 911 to report the incident. “devastating and tragic”In comments to Los Angeles Times “There’s not a police officer in America who would ever want this type of circumstance to occur.”
The chief stated that all body camera footage of responding officers as well as relevant radio communications from police would be combined and made available to the public Monday in a bid to ensure transparency.
A civilian commission tasked to review police shootings and determine whether they are justified will conduct a thorough investigation into the case, according to the body’s president, William Briggs. The California Department of Justice is also authorized to conduct similar reviews, though it’s yet unclear whether the case has been referred to state officials.
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