A 14-year-old girl in the US was killed by a stray bullet fired by police, while she was in a dressing room in a Los Angeles clothing store, police said on Friday.

The officers responded to a call for an assault with "a deadly weapon in progress" on Thursday at a store in North Hollywood, where they opened fire amid a confrontation with the suspect, said a statement from the media relations office of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).

"During a search for additional suspects and victims, officers found the girl and discovered she had been struck by gunfire," the LAPD added.

"She was pronounced dead at the scene," the statement said.

One victim was transported to the hospital for injuries sustained due to the suspect's attack, it added.

Police Chief Michel Moore said he was "profoundly sorry" for the young girl's death, according to the statement.

"I have directed the release of the critical incident video by Monday, December 17th, which will include the 9-1-1 (emergency) calls, radio transmissions, body-worn video and any CCTV and other evidence gathered at this preliminary stage," Moore added.

According to the federal government's National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) which keeps official track of people killed in police interactions, at least 13,700 have been killed between 1980 and 2019 in the US.

In October, researchers at the University of Washington said they uncovered data showing that since 1980, official government statistics on the number of people killed by police had been vastly underestimated, by more than half./aa