Family and friends will gather Monday to mourn a 14-year-old girl struck and killed by a stray bullet fired during a police shooting at a North Hollywood clothing store as she was shopping for clothes with her mother.
The funeral for Valentina Orellana Peralta is scheduled for 11 a.m. at City of Refuge Church in Gardena. The Rev. Al Sharpton will officiate and deliver the eulogy, family attorneys said in a statement.
A public viewing was Saturday at Angelus Funeral Home in Los Angeles.
Valentina was shopping for Christmas clothes Dec. 23 when she was struck by a stray bullet fired by Los Angeles police who opened fire on a man attacking shoppers. A bullet went through an exterior wall of the dressing room and struck the girl, police said.
Valentina died at the scene in her mother’s arms.
Police responded to the Burlington store after receiving a report of an assault with a deadly weapon suspect attacking people. That weapon turned out to be a bike lock and cable.
On their way to the scene, officers also received reports of an active shooter, police said. No gun was found at the scene.
Police released edited body camera and security video of the chaotic series of events at the store. The video shows a man attacking people, dragging a woman in the store and a group of officers, one with a rifle, moving toward the attacker.
After hearing screams outside the dressing room, Valentina locked the dressing room door, her mother said at a news conference.
After hearing screams outside the dressing room, Valentina locked the dressing room door, her mother said at a news conference.
Activists were asking if there was a way for officers to de-escalate without opening fire, while the LAPD released shocking video that showed the suspect beating a woman before officers shot him. Angie Crouch reports Dec. 27, 2021.
“We sat down on a seat, holding each other, praying, when something hit my daughter, Valentina, and threw us to the floor,” Soledad Peralta said. “And my daughter died in my arms. I couldn’t do anything.”
The 24-year-old suspect, Daniel Elena Lopez, died at the scene. The woman who was assaulted had moderate to serious injuries, including wounds to her head, arms and face. She has not been named publicly.
The LAPD officer who fired the round that struck Valentina is on leave. A police union representative said earlier this week he was following active shooter protocols due to reports of a shooter at the store.
In a statement, Los Angeles police said officers did not know the dressing room was occupied. Valentina was found after the shooting during a search for additional attackers.
The LAPD last week posted the edited video package online that included 911 calls, radio transmissions, body camera footage and surveillance video from the shooting at a store crowded with holiday shoppers. The department’s policy is to release video from critical incidents, such as police shootings, within 45 days.
