Girl, 14, is killed by cop’s stray bullet as she hid in dressing room when police opened fire on suspect who was attacking a woman at Burlington Coat Factory store in North Hollywood: Suspect also killed
- Two people, a man and a 14-year-old girl, were killed in a Burlington Coat Factory store shooting in Los Angels on Thursday
- Police responded to an assault and shots fired at the store just before noon, and an officer opened fire and killed the suspect, with a stray bullet killing the teen
- A third victim who may have also been shot was transported to the hospital
- The LA Police Department and County District Attorney’s Office are currently investigating the case
- The shooting comes two days after a father of three was shot and killed in his LA suburb after neighbors confronted a local burglar
A police yellow tape is seen at the Burlington Coat Factory store in North Hollywood
A 14-year-old girl was killed by a stray bullet after a Los Angeles Police Officer opened fire on a man assaulting a woman in a North Hollywood clothing store on Thursday, police said.
LA Police Capt. Stacy Sell said police responded to reports of an assault and shots being fired at the Burlington Coat Factory store in North Hollywood just before noon.
When an officer arrived, Sell said the cop opened fire on the suspect, killing him and a 14-year-old girl who was hiding in the store dressing room with her mother.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange said the suspect and the victim were pronounced 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,’ Spell told reporters outside the store.
Another woman with moderate-to-serious injuries caused by the suspect’s assault was transported to a hospital, Prange said.
Store employees told Fox 11 that a man with a crowbar came to the store and began smashing display cases as they hid for safety.
Witnesses said a male suspect began breaking displays at the store before assaulting a woman. An officer responding to the incident opened fire inside the store
Shoppers are seen at the scene where the deadly shooting took place
The police evacuated the store following the shooting. A teen shopper was found dead inside on of the store’s dressing rooms after a stray bullet hit her
Police officers responded to a 911 call, with one officer opening fire and killing a man who was assaulting a woman. A stray bullet killed a 14-year-old girl hiding in the store dressing room
The employees claimed they heard the gunshots once police arrived at the scene, and it is currently unclear if the suspect had a gun.
Imelda Garcia said her sister works in the store and was on break when she heard gunshots and everyone started running.
Garcia said she spoke to her sister on the phone and that she’s OK but sounded ‘really nervous.’
Police escorted people out of the store nearly two hours after the incident.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is currently investigating the case along with the LAPD since it involves an officer opening fire.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore said police were currently pulling recordings of the incident from bodycams, including from multiple closed-circuit cameras in the store.
He added that to provide full transparency, the department will compile and release all video of the incident, as well as radio calls and other available information.
There were no other immediate details made available.
The store will remain closed today and be closed tomorrow as the investigation is ongoing.
LA Police Capt. Stacy Sell said police responded to reports of an assault and shots being fired at the Burlington Coat Factory store in North Hollywood just before noon
Imelda Garcia told reporters at the scene that her sister was inside the store during the incident. Those inside took cover as the suspect ravaged the store and attacked a shopper
Officers investigating the scene said the suspect was not carrying a gun
Nearby stores at the outlet have closed down amid police investigation
A police yellow tape is seen at the scene where two people were struck by gunfire in a shooting at the Burlington Coat Factory store
The shooting comes two days after a father of three was shot dead by a burglar he and other neighbors chased down in their Los Angeles suburb.
Joey Casias, 38, was killed in Covina, about 20 miles outside L.A., where police said the trouble began December 21 at about 11 p.m., when ‘multiple neighbors’ on the city’s 1100 block of North Charter spotted a man stealing from a parked car.
They followed him about a half a mile away to the 1800 block of East Covina Boulevard.
When the bandit was confronted, he pulled out a gun and fired several rounds, fatally wounding Casias, who was a UPS driver and Boy Scouts’ leader police said.
Joey Casias (pictured at left with his three children and wife) was shot dead December 21 after trying to stop a burglar caught stealing from a neighborhood car
Police arrested Trevor Howard Thompson with the crime following a lengthy standoff
Police arrested suspected murderer Trevor Howard Thompson, 32, on December 22 following a standoff that lasted hours.
Covina Police Department Lt. Ryan Davis said Thompson was known to police, but he couldn’t elaborate on past interactions cops had with the suspected gunman, or how recently he’d last fallen afoul of the law.
The Christmastime killing left the victims’ family facing some gut-wrenching questions from Casias’ children.
‘My granddaughter, when I put her to bed, said ‘please don’t tell me my daddy’s not going to be here for Christmas,’ Lydia Casias, the victim’s mother, told NBC Los Angeles. ‘It broke my heart.’
The victim’s sister added: ‘My nephew broke my heart: “Who’s going to play football with me? Who’s going to Disneyland? How do I answer those questions to a seven-year-old?’
Casias, a UPS driver and boy scout leader, left his family shattered. His seven-year-old son asked his aunt: ‘Who’s going to play football with me?’ His daughter pleaded with her grandma, saying: ‘Please don’t tell me daddy’s not going to be here for Christmas’
His wife Veronica Casias (pictured together) described him as a ‘wonderful father, a wonderful man’
Lydia Casias, the victim’s mother, said the family was heartbroken over the death
A Gofundme established for the victim’s family described Casias as ‘the guy that would always give the shirt off his back.
‘He was the guy that would give his last dollar if you needed it,’ Juan Niestas wrote on the page. ‘He was the guy that this world needs more of. Father of three. 5 if you include the pooches.’
The UPS driver and boy scout leader shattered his young family, NBC Los Angeles reported.
‘He was a wonderful father, a wonderful man,’ his tearful wife Veronica told the station. ‘He did everything for everyone.’
The shootings come as homicide figures have soared 52 percent in the past two years, and Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon is under fire for his soft-on-crime policies.
Gason continues to be called out for a zero-bail policy that some critics say is exacerbating the region’s crime problems by freeing criminals to offend safe in the knowledge they’ll be straight back on the streets after.
At this time in 2019, the Los Angeles Police Department recorded 251 homicides. As of December 18, there have been 382 slayings in the city, representing a 52 percent increase, according to LAPD data.
Burglaries have dipped over the past few years.
Property crimes are up in California as a whole as well, according to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).
Year-over-year through October, violent crimes spiked five percent statewide, with Oakland up 17 percent and Los Angeles up about one percent, PPIC data shows.
Homicides during the same period rose 17 percent, from 523 last year to 613 as of October. In LA, homicides rose 17 percent, the institute said.
Homicide rates in LA have skyrocketed over the past two years. At this time in 2019, the Los Angeles Police Department recorded 251 homicides. Burglaries have dipped in recent years
Eric Siddall of the Association of Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys slammed LA DA George Gascon Monday for his silence on the recent string of smash-and-grab robberies
Earlier this month, the head of a union that represents roughly 1,000 Los Angeles County prosecutors slammed Gascon for keeping mum despite the recent string of smash-and-grab robberies plaguing Southern California.
Gascon, one of many ‘woke’ DAs bankrolled by billionaire Democrat donor George Soros, has survived one recall effort and faces another that was launched December 6 after he was accused of being soft on crime.
‘He’s created an atmosphere devoid of accountability,’ said Eric Siddall, vice president of the Association of Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys, during an appearance on Fox News on Monday.
The union head’s comments come as organized groups of thieves continue to terrorize cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, brazenly looting retail stores for thousands of dollars-worth of goods, often in front of customers and staff.
Gascon’s silence in the face of the lawlessness has only infuriated his critics.
Gascon has faced rampant criticism since assuming office last year over his progressive policies
A map shows the locations of some of the major smash-and-grab robberies that have recently taken place in Southern California
During the first week of December, LA police arrested 14 suspects alleged to have been involved in 11 recent smash-and-grab robberies at stores last month, where nearly $340,000 worth of merchandise was stolen in strikes on an LA Nordstrom, a Lululemon in Studio City, a Fairfax district store, and a CVS pharmacy in South LA.
However, due to city’s zero-bail policies, the suspects were all released within hours of being handcuffed and are currently walking the streets while they wait for their cases to go to court.
‘If you look at the 14 people arrested, they could have been charged, there could have been bail amounts set, but none of that was done because the district attorney refuses to take a leadership position on this issue,’ Siddall told Fox, slamming Gascon office’s do-nothing approach to the rampant crime wave currently afflicting cities all across the Golden State.
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