A Los Angeles police officer who shot and killed a teenage girl with a stray bullet will not be charged over the incident, the California Department of Justice announced Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officer William Dorsey Jones Jr. fired his rifle three times into a Burlington Coat Factory department store when pursuing a man who had attacked two women in December 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Valentina Orellana Peralta, 14 years old, was shot and killed while hiding in a dressing room with her mother, the bullet traveling through a wall. The suspect was also killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of filing criminal charges against Jones, the state DOJ said in a report Wednesday that the Los Angeles Police Department \u201cshould consider updating their communication training bulletin and any related training to account for the type of situation presented during this event.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis case was a particularly challenging one to process as this involved the loss of two lives,\u201d Attorney General Rob Bonta\u2002<\/u><\/a>said in a statement<\/u><\/a>. \u201cAny loss of life is a tragedy, and my heart goes out especially to the family of Valentina Orellana Peralta, who tragically lost her life and whose only involvement in this incident was by being at the wrong place at the wrong time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the days after the shooting, Peralta\u2019s family pressed the LAPD for justice<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is like my whole heart has been ripped out of my body,\u201d the teen\u2019s father, Juan Pablo Orellana Larenas,<\/u><\/a> said in a statement. \u201cWe want justice for our daughter. Valentina\u2019s life mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The LAPD civilian review board determined in 2022 that Jones\u2019 use of lethal force against the suspect was justified, but also found that he was not justified in firing his rifle more than once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Hill has reached out to the LAPD for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n