The Los Angeles Police Department on Monday released body camera video of a shooting last week that left a 14-year-old bystander dead.
Valentina Orellana-Peralta was killed in a department store dressing room on Dec. 23 when a stray bullet traveled through the wall during the shooting and struck her.
Body camera footage released by the LAPD shows officers entering the North Hollywood store with their guns drawn, with one officer telling his colleagues to “slow down” as they look for the suspect. After seeing a trail of blood on the ground, one officer saw the suspect and fired what sounds like three shots.
The suspect, 24-year-old Daniel Elena Lopez, immediately fell to the floor, ultimately dying from gunshot wounds.
Security camera footage from before officers arrived showed Lopez beating another person with what appeared to be a bike lock, though one caller told 911 that they thought he had a gun. No gun was recovered from the scene, according to CBS News.
“Unbeknownst to the officers, a 14-year-old girl was in the changing room behind a wall, and was behind the suspect, out of the officers’ view,” said LAPD Captain of Media Relations Stacy Spell. “At this preliminary phase in the investigation, it is believed that the victim was struck by one of the rounds fired by an officer at the suspect.”
Orellana-Peralta was reportedly trying on quinceañera dresses with her mother when the assault began, according to CBS.
The footage released by the LAPD does not include when the teenager was found. The officer who fired the fatal shot has been placed on paid administrative leave.
The woman who Lopez was seen striking in security footage was taken to a local hospital where she was treated for injuries to her head, face and arms.