Stray bullet kills 14-year-old girl during police shooting at LA clothing store

A reported assault at a Los Angeles clothing store on Thursday resulted in one injury and the deaths of two people, one of whom was the suspect police were responding to apprehend. 

Later on Thursday, police officials stated that the second victim was a 14-year-old girl who is believed to have been fatally struck by a bullet from a police officer who shot through the wall of the dressing room she was hiding in when confronting the suspect.

“This 14-year-old young lady was in a dressing room. From where I saw you cannot see into that dressing room,” said Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Dominic Choi.

Authorities received notice that a potential shooting was taking place on Thursday at a department store in North Hollywood, Los Angeles Police Department officer Capt. Stacy Spell said at a press briefing. Local media has reported that the store was a Burlington Coat Factory.

Upon arriving at the scene and searching for an assailant, officers encountered a person they say was in the process of assaulting someone else, leading officers to fatally shoot the suspect.

After the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the scene, two individuals were ultimately declared dead. The injured individual who survived is believed to be a victim of the alleged assaulter, though the cause of the injuries is unclear.

“We’re at the very preliminary stages of this investigation. There’s still a lot of surveillance video to review, there are witnesses to interview. We’ll be looking at body-worn video, but there will be more updates that will be released as more information is is made available,” said Spell.

The shooter currently remains unidentified, with Spell declining to say whether they were male or female.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange told The Associated Press that the two victims who were declared dead at the scene were one man and one woman.

— Updated at 8:10 p.m.