Parents Of 14 Year Old Girl Killed In Botched LAPD Shooting Speak Out
The parents of 14-year-old Valentina Orellana Peralta have broken their silence after their daughter was accidentally killed in an LAPD shooting inside of a Burlington Coat Factory store on Dec. 23.
The incident occurred at the North Hollywood store after a suspect, Daniel Elena Lopez, 24, assaulted a woman with a bike lock, leaving her face bloodied. After police arrived, an officer fired three shots inside the store, killing Lopez. However, one of the bullets passed through the walls of the dressing room Peralta was in at the time, striking her in the chest and killing her.
"We sat down and hugged and started praying. When something impacted my daughter Valentina, it threw us on the floor and she died in my arms and there was nothing I could do," Peralta's mother, Soledad Peralta, said in Spanish, according to her lawyer, Erika Contreras. Peralta called daughter's death "one of the greatest and most powerful pains any human being can imagine."
"It is like my whole heart has been ripped out of my body. The pain of opening Christmas presents that have been delivered for Christmas Day cannot be articulated," Peralta's father. Juan Pablo Orellana Larenas, told NBC News.
The officer who fired the deadly shots has since been placed on leave, according to CBS.
Peralta was trying on dresses for her upcoming quinceañera at the time.
Police Chief Michel Moore called Peralta's death "devastating for everyone involved," adding, "I am profoundly sorry for the loss of this young girl's life and I know there are no words that can relieve the unimaginable pain for the family," he said.
Peralta, who immigrated to the U.S. from Chile with her mother, had dreams of becoming a robot-designing engineer and one day seeing a Lakers game.
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