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LA cop slammed for accidentally killing cowering girl, 14, while firing at suspect

A stray bullet hit the 14-year-old girl, who was hiding in the changing room with her mum, when the cop opened fire inside the North Hollywood store

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Twitter is outraged after a 14-year-old girl was fatally shot by a Los Angeles police officer who opened fire on a suspect who was assaulting a woman. The incident reportedly happened at the Burlington Coat Factory store in North Hollywood on Thursday, December 23. The police were at the location in response to calls received about an assault and shots being fired.

LA Police Captain Stacy Sell said that the cop, whose identity has not been revealed, arrived at the location and fired at the suspect, killing him. But apparently, a stray bullet also hit a 14-year-old teenage girl, who was hiding in the changing room with her mum, that took her life. The suspect as well as the teenager were both declared dead at the scene. “While conducting that search for the suspect, the officers encountered an individual who was in the process of assaulting another, and an officer-involved shooting occurred,” Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange said.

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Describing how the Thursday afternoon tragedy unfolded on December 23, Burlington Coat Factory store’s workers said that the suspect came accompanied by a crowbar and started destroying display windows. Witnesses were not sure if the man also had a gun with himself, but they heard firing once police reached the scene. Representatives of the department store company issued a statement that read, “At Burlington, our hearts are heavy as a result of the tragic incident that occurred today at our North Hollywood, CA store. Our top priority is always the safety and well-being of our customers and associates. This is an ongoing investigation, and we are supporting authorities.”

Meanwhile, netizens on social media were furious that the incident also took the life of the girl. A user tweeted, “LAPD open fired into a crowded store at someone ‘armed’ w/ a BIKE LOCK, missed the target, & ended the life of a 14 y/o girl! Trained professional w/ a quarter of a billion dollars in tax payer funding! Tell me we don’t need the police w/o telling me we don’t need the police.” The second one wrote, “Today, the LAPD killed a 14-yr-old girl. This is not an anomaly and is part of a long pattern of senseless LAPD violence. • In 2021, the # of people killed by the LAPD is up 143% (17 deaths) from 2020 • In 2021, the # of police shootings is up 52% (41 shootings) from 2020.”

Slamming the cops, a person said, “It's been 7 years since LAPD killed someone this young. In 2016, @LAPDHQ killed 14 yo Jesse Romero. The youngest child that LAPD has killed in the past 20 years was 19 month old baby Suzie Pena in 2005. In all cases, LAPD only knows one trick: murder. #AbolishThePolice.” Another one commented, “The 14 year old child was not protected, she was murdered by a cop. Mistake my as$. That family wont be celebrating Christmas because of someone’s ‘mistake’.”

“F*** the police. They shot and killed an innocent 14-year-old girl. Her family will grieve over Christmas and not be able to exchange gifts with her. A middle school and community are heartbroken. She's gone. LAPD are murderers and must be abolished,” a third user added.