Ringo HW Chiu / AP
- Two people were killed in a Hollywood department store, including a male suspect and a 14-year-old.
- Authorities said one of the bullets hit the wall of a locker room and hit the teenage girl.
- Another woman was taken to a trauma center with moderate to severe injuries, officials said.
Los Angeles police shot dead a 14-year-old girl in a locker room at the Burlington Coat Factory on Thursday as they opened fire on a male suspect in the North Hollywood store.
The alleged perpetrator was also killed in the shooting, the authorities said.
Los Angeles Police officers responded shortly before noon to a report of a man who had carried out a deadly weapon attack in the store.
When they arrived, “the officers met the suspect who was about to attack another person,” Officer Drake Madison told Insider. The police then opened fire. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene.
At a second press conference on Thursday, LAPD deputy chief Dominic Choi said one of the bullets hit a locker room wall and hit the 14-year-old girl.
“You can’t see in the changing rooms and it just looks like a straight wall made of drywall,” Choi said.
Authorities said they did not know if the girl was in the locker room before the incident or if she took cover in the locker room during the shooting.
Choi added that police are unaware of the suspect’s motive or whether he knew the woman he attacked in the store before the encounter.
The attacked woman was hospitalized with moderate to severe injuries sustained in the attack, police said.
When LAPD officials open fire, an internal investigation and an investigation by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office will be launched NBC news.
Police said they plan to review the surveillance footage as part of an ongoing investigation.
A representative from Burlington Coat Factory said the company is assisting the authorities in the investigation.
“Our hearts are heavy at Burlington because of the tragic incident that occurred today in our North Hollywood, California store,” the spokesman told Insider. “Our top priority is always the safety and well-being of our customers and employees.”
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