A 14-year-old girl in a dressing room was struck by a possible stray bullet fired by police in a violent and chaotic confrontation Thursday at a Burlington store in North Hollywood, NBC reports.
An assault suspect was fatally shot by police at the clothing store, and a 14-year-old girl was killed by what is believed to have been a stray police bullet that passed through a dressing room wall.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore vowed in a statement Thursday night to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances that led up to the tragedy.
"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."
At an afternoon news conference, police said the stray round that killed the girl appears to be from officers who opened fire on a man as he attacked another person in the store crowded with holiday shoppers.
Another woman was hospitalized. Details about her condition were not immediately available. Los Angeles police Capt. Stacy Spell, who spoke at a news conference, said the injured woman was the victim in the initial assault report that brought officers to the store.
The identities of the deceased individuals were not immediately available, but authorities said one of them was the suspect who attacked others inside the store.
Witnesses said a man began swinging some kind of a chain and attacking customers inside the store. It was not immediately clear whether the man also had a gun.
Police located the man assaulting another person in the store, police said. Police opened fire and the attacker was struck and killed.
It appears at least one of those rounds passed through a wall and struck the 14-year-old girl in the dressing room behind the suspect, police said. Authorities said officers had no way of seeing into the dressing room and did not realize the girl was inside when they opened fire.
Details about the condition of the victim being attacked were not immediately available. Police did not say whether that person was struck by officers' gunfire.
