14-Year-Old Girl Killed in LAPD Shooting: No Charges for Officer

#Jus­tice­For­Valenti­na #LAPDShoot­ing #PoliceUse­Of­Force #Bystander­Safe­ty

Teenag­er Trag­i­cal­ly Killed in Store Dress­ing Room Dur­ing Police Action

A 14-year-old girl, Valenti­na Orel­lana-Per­al­ta, was inno­cent­ly caught in the cross­fire dur­ing a 2021 LAPD inci­dent. The Cal­i­for­nia DOJ has ruled the offi­cer involved won’t face crim­i­nal charges.

What Hap­pened?

• Valenti­na was shop­ping with her mom at Burling­ton in North Hol­ly­wood when a sus­pect (Daniel Ele­na-Lopez) attacked customers.
• Police arrived and con­front­ed the sus­pect, fir­ing shots.
• A stray bul­let trag­i­cal­ly pierced the dress­ing room wall, strik­ing Valentina.
• Both Valenti­na and the sus­pect died.

Why No Charges?

• The DOJ report says there’s not enough evi­dence to prove the offi­cer com­mit­ted a crime.
• An expert con­clud­ed the offi­cer lacked time for de-esca­la­tion tactics.
• The bul­let ric­o­cheted off the floor before hit­ting the dress­ing room.

Com­mu­ni­ty in Shock

• Valenti­na’s fam­i­ly is dev­as­tat­ed. (We حاول [habol] to reach them for com­ment but haven’t heard back.)
• The Attor­ney Gen­er­al offered con­do­lences and called it a “trag­ic loss.”
• The LAPD can’t com­ment due to pend­ing lawsuits.

Is This the End?

• The fam­i­ly may pur­sue civ­il action.
• The case rais­es ques­tions about police use of force and bystander safety.