Los Angeles police fatally shot a 14-year-old girl inside a Burlington dressing room on Thursday during the attempted takedown of an assault suspect. (AP Photo)
A police officer in Los Angeles fatally shot a teenage girl in a clothing store dressing room Thursday during a chaotic confrontation that the city police chief called "devastating and tragic".
Reports quoting authorities in the Southern California city said bullet rounds pierced through the wall and struck the 14-year-old girl, killing her on the spot.
The teenager was at a Burlington store in North Hollywood trying on dresses for her 15th birthday, according to reports, citing police sources.
The incident took place when a man began acting erratically, threatening to throw items at the store that was teeming with holiday shoppers, witnesses told KCBS-TV.
Police appeared at the scene and fatally shot the suspect, however, no weapon was discovered in his possession.
One of the bullets went through the wall behind the man and killed the teenage girl, who was in a changing room with her mother, police said.
Officers found the teenager dead after seeing a hole in "a solid wall that you cant see behind," Los Angeles police assistant chief Dominic Choi was quoted as saying.
"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 Thursday night.
"I am profoundly sorry for the loss of this young girls life and I know there are no words that can relieve the unimaginable pain for the family."
The names of the girl and the suspect were not disclosed as investigators try to determine whether the assault was accidental or intended.
Photos shared on social media showed a woman with a bloodied face being placed in an ambulance. She was taken to the hospital with wounds to her head, arms and face.
The shooting on Thursday recalled a July 21, 2018, confrontation in which Los Angeles officers shot and killed a woman at a Trader Joes market.
Policemen got into a gunfight with a man who they alleged had shot his grandmother before leading police on a chase that ended with a car crash outside the market.
A police bullet killed Melyda Corado, 27, the assistant store manager, as she ran toward the stores entrance after hearing the car crash.
The cases of police brutalities have assumed alarming proportions in the United States in recent years, prompting people to protest.
A study in October suggested that more than half of all police-involved killings in the US were underreported.
African Americans and Hispanic Americans constitute a majority of the victims in those cases. Not only does police discrimination plague the system, this also reveals cover ups by law enforcement agencies.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/25140
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