The family of a 14-year-old girl who was shot and killed by a stray bullet fired by a Los Angeles Police Department officer while she was in a dressing room said they want justice for their daughter.
The day before Christmas, a man with a bike lock attacked customers at a coat factory in North Hollywood, killing a woman and wounding her mother. There was a lot of chaos in the store. The police arrived on the scene after employees and witnesses called to report the crime, because they thought the man was carrying a gun. The man was shot and killed by the officers when they arrived.
One of the bullets that officers fired at Elena Lopez hit the dressing room door where her mother and daughter were hiding. She died in her mom's arms.
"We heard some screams and sat down and hugged each other and started crying," Soledad said in a statement translated from Spanish to English. Valentina locked the door to protect us. We began hugging each other tighter. We were praying. I believe she was praying for me.
Soledad said that something hit Valentina with such force that she and her daughter were thrown to the ground.
I saw white powder coming out of her body. Her body became limp. Soledad said he tried to wake her up by shaking her. She died in my arms and there was nothing I could do. One of the most profound pains that a human being can imagine is seeing a son or daughter die in your arms.
Soledad said police didn't respond to her screams until after her daughter died.
When the police arrived, they took me out of the dressing room and left my daughter laying there. She said she wanted them to help her, but they just left her laying there alone.
The police chief promised an extensive investigation after the shooting on Friday.
The death of an innocent child is tragic and devastating for everyone involved. I am sorry for the loss of this young girl's life and I know there are no words that can ease the pain of the family.
Moore said the department will conduct a thorough, complete and transparent investigation into the circumstances that led up to this tragedy and give the family and public as much information as possible.
The California Department of Justice is conducting an independent investigation into the shooting.
The Los Angeles Police Department released a 35-minute video of the events leading up to the shooting and the aftermath.
The sound of her mother's scream can be heard after the shooting stopped.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Carolina Peralta said that her niece and sister came to California six months ago from their home country of Chile.
She said that they traveled to the US to visit the sister of Valentina. She told the LA Times that the trip turned into a longer stay and that mother and daughter were going to immigration in order to live in the country permanently.
"Valentina was a shy girl in Chile, but everything was going well for her in the US," Carolina said. She was more outgoing and was catching up with English. She was happy to be with her sister.
Soledad does not understand how this tragedy could have happened when the family had been together.
Lawyers for the family did not announce any legal proceedings but said that they were considering all possible options, including a civil lawsuit.
We want justice for our angel. Soledad said that their precious little angel was Valentina.
The family wanted people to know that they had a beautiful, intelligent, and well-equipped daughter, said Ben.
He read out a statement from her dad, who had traveled to Los Angeles from Chile. He said his daughter once said the US was the safest country in the world.
The father's statement said his heart had been ripped out of him. "She had dreams, and tragically those dreams have been overshadowed by a nightmare that has prevented me from sleeping at night."
