The 14-year-old girl who was shot dead by a police officer called the United States “the safest country in the world”, says her father
Alexandra Ferguson
(CNN) — Valentina Orellana Peralta's dream of becoming an American citizen and studying robotics ended days before Christmas in the dressing room of a Los Angeles clothing store, where she was shot and killed by police.
A day after a video released by the Los Angeles Police Department raised new questions about Thursday's fatal shooting, Valentina's mother described hugging her daughter and praying in the locker room moments before the girl was hit by a bullet from a police rifle.
Police release videos of fatal shooting where girl died 1:05
A distraught Juan Pablo Orellana Larenas, who flew to Los Angeles from his native Chile, told reporters Tuesday that his daughter had once assured him that the United States was "the safest country in the world."
Through tears, Valentina's mother, Soledad Peralta, described how they took cover after hearing screams while she bought a Christmas dress for the girl.
"We sat and hugged and prayed," Peralta said, adding that Valentina fell to the ground after being shot. Peralta spoke at a news conference outside Los Angeles police headquarters along with civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump and others.
"She died in my arms," said her mother. "I could not do anything. Seeing a son or daughter die in your arms is one of the strongest and most deeply painful things you can imagine. Valentina meant the world to me and her family and friends. Now our sweet angel is gone forever. Valentina give us strength, angel, to do justice. My daughter, I love you."
Orellana showed a skateboard that his daughter had ordered online for Christmas, and that, according to what she said, she will now use with the angels.
Valentina came to the United States from Chile with her mother and her sister about six months ago. Her father stayed in Chile, but had planned a trip to California for the holidays. He was hoping to take her daughter to a Los Angeles Lakers game.
Valentina had excelled at her new school, despite her short stay in the country, according to her relatives.
"I have no words to describe what I'm going through, especially during these holidays," said Valentina's father. “I can't sleep… All she wanted was to become an American citizen. I once told him to leave this country. 'No, dad,' she said. 'This is the safest country in the world, a country of opportunities.' Now my daughter is dead at the hands of the state.”
Peralta said that they took her away and that Valentina's body was left on the floor of her locker room.
Crump, one of several attorneys representing Valentina's family, said the legal team is seeking access to all evidence from the Los Angeles police investigation.
"This 14-year-old girl should never have ended up as collateral damage in a strip mall," Crump said.
Los Angeles police on Monday released redacted surveillance camera footage and police body camera video showing the events leading up to the teen's death by an officer she shot at a suspect.
The video shows a 24-year-old suspect identified as Daniel Elena-Lopez entering the Burlington Coat Factory store in North Hollywood on his bicycle and wearing a tank top and shorts. He goes up the escalator with his bike.
Moments later, he returns to the stairs wearing a multi-colored jacket and long pants before brandishing his bike lock at patrons, according to police. He is seen attacking several women.
Multiple body camera videos released by police show a woman on the ground covered in blood as officers arrive and try to find the suspect, who, according to a police statement on Friday, was a short distance away.
On body camera footage, an officer can be heard firing three bullets at the suspect, who subsequently falls to the ground. The video shows the officer firing a rifle at the suspect.
Valentina died from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to coroner's records.
"They took away the girl's American dream," Valentina's uncle, Rodrigo Orellana, told CNN affiliate Chilevision from her native Chile this week.
"Everybody ran to the locker room and unfortunately she got shot," he said. "Supposedly the police who call themselves the best in the world, and they shot him."
"They took away the girl's American dream," says uncle of young woman killed by a police shot in California
Police Capt. Stacy Spell said the investigation is in its early stages. The incident will also be reviewed by representatives from the California Department of Justice, the State Attorney General's Office and the Office of the Inspector General, according to Spell.
In a statement, the board of directors of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents police officers, offered condolences Tuesday.
"Words cannot convey our deep sorrow for the loss of Valentina Orellana-Peralta," the statement said. "We are praying for Valentina's family as she deals with this unbearable tragedy and we are also praying for the officer involved in this incident as he is devastated by what has transpired."
Anthony Barksdale, a CNN law enforcement analyst and former Baltimore police deputy commissioner, said the video raises some questions.
"Was the use of the patrol rifle justified?" he asked Monday night on CNN. “And…if you're going to shoot a (.223) bullet inside a department store, those bullets can easily go through a body and keep going through the drywall. So you have to analyze the use of force.”
Barksdale said the suspect did not appear to be moving toward a victim or an officer when he was shot.
The police department released three 911 calls and radio transmissions of the shooting.
Police were called in the wake of numerous reports of an assault with a deadly weapon and a possible shooting in progress at the store. In one of the calls, a store employee tells the operator there is a "hostile customer in my store attacking customers" and "breaking things."
As he talks on the phone, the woman is also heard repeatedly yelling for people to evacuate the store. She explains to the operator that the suspect is using a bicycle lock to attack people.
The suspect died at the scene. A steel or metal cable lock was found near his body, according to authorities.
No firearms were recovered at the scene.
The victim of the assault was taken to a hospital with head and arm injuries. Police do not believe the woman knew the suspect.
The officer who fired the fatal shots is on "paid administrative leave, per department protocols for officer-involved shootings, for at least two weeks," a law enforcement official told CNN.
Last week, Police Chief Michel Moore said: “This chaotic incident that has resulted in the death of an innocent girl; it is tragic and devastating for all involved. I am deeply sorry for the loss of this young woman's life and know that no words can ease the unimaginable pain of the family."
— CNN's Cheri Mossburg, Sarah Moon and Topher Gauk-Roger contributed to this report.
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.