Groups call for arrest of LAPD officer involved in Burlington store shooting that killed 14-year-old
"This 14-year-old child, who should be with her family today enjoying the holiday," said one demonstrator.
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Several Los Angeles-area groups are calling for the arrest and prosecution of the police officer who inadvertently shot a 14-year-old girl to death while confronting a suspect inside a North Hollywood Burlington store.
On Sunday, demonstrators rallied outside of the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters in downtown, calling for the arrest of Officer William Jones - who was identified by police last week as the officer involved in the shooting.
Valentina Orellana Peralta was with her mother in a dressing room trying on dresses two days before Christmas when she was struck by a police bullet that passed through a wall on the second floor of the Burlington store on Victory Boulevard.
She died in the arms of her mother, who said she and her daughter sat down and hugged when they heard the commotion in the store. The force of the gunshot that struck the teen threw them both to the ground, the girl's mother said.
MORE | Mother of teen killed by LAPD tearfully recounts shooting, aftermath
Last week, police released body-camera footage and other details of the shooting when officers responded to reports of a man assaulting people, and possibly firing shots, inside the Burlington store.
The demonstrators on Sunday said they want the officer to be charged with involuntary manslaughter.
"This 14-year-old child, who should be with her family today enjoying the holiday ... and we demand justice, and the justice we demand is that [L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón] file criminal charges against Officer Jones to hold him accountable for Valentina's death," said one demonstrator who spoke out during Sunday's protest.
The narrated video released by the LAPD includes footage showing the assault suspect, who was identified as 24-year-old Daniel Elena Lopez, viciously attacking a woman on the second floor of the Burlington store, repeatedly beating her with a steel or metal cable bike lock, leaving her bloodied on the floor as officers arrived.
Body-camera video captures the sound of police gunfire quickly ringing out as officers spot the suspect -- with the cable lock in his hand. More than a half-dozen officers descend on the suspect after the shots are heard, and the injured suspect is taken into custody.
Lopez died at the scene.
While the video shows the suspect with the cable lock in his right hand, there is no indication he is armed with a gun, and it is unclear if he advanced on any officers before the shots rang out. Police have said no gun was found at the scene.
The video released by the LAPD last week includes audio from a series of 911 calls. In one call, a store employee tells a dispatcher a suspect is in the store attacking people with a bike lock. In another, a woman reports the sound of shots being fired in the store, saying there's "a guy with a gun.''
Another caller reports that her mother was hiding inside the store because of a man making threats. She added, "I don't know if he has a gun, I don't know what he has, but they're hiding.''
City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.
