- An LAPD officer fatally shot a 14-year-old girl in a North Hollywood Burlington Coat Factory.
- The police union told Insider Officer William Jones took active shooter training a few weeks prior.
- Spokesman Tom Saggau said Jones was following protocols for what he thought was an active shooter.
The Los Angeles police officer who fatally shot a 14-year-old girl inside a Burlington Coat Factory dressing room last month had recently gone through mass casualty active shooter training a few weeks before the incident, the Los Angeles Police Protective League said.
Tom Saggau, a spokesman for the LAPPL confirmed to Insider that Officer William Jones – who shot 14-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta and suspect 24-year-old Daniel Elena-Lopez – had recently gone through active shooter training.
Orellana-Peralta was killed when LAPD responded to a report of a man assaulting people with a deadly weapon in the North Hollywood store. Police saw the man assaulting a person and opened fire while Orellana-Peralta and her mother were hiding in a dressing room, Insider previously reported.
Saggau told Insider that while Elena-Lopez did not have a gun, some 911 calls suggested he did, and therefore officers responded at the highest threat level.
Body-camera footage released by the LAPD showed multiple colleagues yelling at Jones to "slow down," when police entered the store.
FOX11 reported that Saggau told City News Service that parts of the footage were being "misinterpreted," adding that the calls to "slow down" were so that Jones could "keep alert," and scan his surroundings.
Saggau also said Jones moved ahead of the rest of the officers because he was holding the long rifle, the firearm that's meant to be in front.