LAPD officer kills 14-year-old girl while opening fire on suspect in clothing store
A 14-year-old girl was reportedly shot and killed by a Los Angeles police officer who opened fire on a suspect in a Burlington clothing store in North Hollywood on Thursday, The Associated Press reports.
The police were responding to a report of a person being assaulted with a deadly weapon when they apparently opened fire in the store on the suspect. The suspect was struck and killed — officers found he had a heavy metal cable lock, but not a gun, The New York Times reports — while a bullet pierced the wall of the dressing room and killed the 14-year-old, who was shopping for a quinceañera dress with her mother.
"Preliminarily, we believe that round was an officer's round," Dominic H. Choi — the acting chief in the absence of LAPD Chief Michel Moore, who was out of town with his family — said at a news conference. Choi added, "The dressing room was behind where the suspect was, in front of the officer. You can't see into the dressing rooms. It just looks like a straight wall of drywall."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Briefed while out of town, Moore added, "There's not a police officer in America who would ever want this type of circumstance to occur." The Los Angeles Times reports that the LAPD said "it wasn't yet clear whether the lock prompted officers to shoot."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
7 restaurants that beat winter at its own chilly game
The Week Recommends Classic, new and certain to feed you well
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: December 24, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: December 24, 2024
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Teenage girl kills 2 in Wisconsin school shooting
Speed Read 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow fatally shot a teacher and student at Abundant Life Christian School
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Penny acquitted in NYC subway choking death
Speed Read Daniel Penny was found not guilty of homicide in the 2023 choking death of Jordan Neely
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Suspect in CEO shooting caught, charged with murder
Speed Read Police believe 26-year-old Luigi Mangione killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
UnitedHealthcare CEO killed in 'brazen, targeted' hit
Speed Read Police are conducting a massive search for Brian Thompson's shooter
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
DOJ demands changes at 'abhorrent' Atlanta jail
Speed Read Georgia's Fulton County Jail subjects inmates to 'unconstitutional' conditions, the 16-month investigation found
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
China tries to bury deadly car attack
Speed Read An SUV drove into a crowd of people in Zhuhai, killing and injuring dozens — but news of the attack has been censored
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Menendez brothers may go free in LA prosecutor plan
Speed Read Prosecutors are asking for the brothers to be resentenced for the 1989 murder of their parents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Abercrombie ex-CEO charged with sex crimes
Speed Read Mike Jeffries ran the brand during its heyday from 1992 to 2014
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published