Cutting Room Floor: CBS Edits Out 911 Call Warning Cops of Gun

Seemingly taking a page out of NBC’s playbook Tuesday night, CBS Evening NewsA part of 9-1-1 calling warning LAPD officers that gunshots had been heard at a Burlington clothes store was edited. It’s was critical context missing from the event that resulted in the accidental death of a 14-year-old girl hiding in a dressing room with her mother while it was later discovered the attacker did not have a gun.

Although CBS and Jonathan Vigliotti, the national correspondent for CBS, did soundbite a 911 call in the beginning of their report at the start of it, they left out any mention of the gun.

[Cuts to video]

9-1-1 CALLER: I had a hostile customer in my store attacking – attacking customers.

VIGLIOTTI – 9-1-1 and surveillance footage captured chaos as Daniel Elena Lopez, 24, entered North Hollywood Burlington’s clothing shop and began his assault.

Let’s compare that to how ABC’s World News TonightThe shooting was reported by Zohreen Sha, Los Angles correspondent.

LAPD: The incident occurred when officers responded to 9-1-1 calls from an active shooter at North Hollywood Burlington on Thursday just before Christmas Eve.

CALLER: It’s just — it’s –it’s just — shots.

911 Operator

CALLER: Yes.

SHAH. The suspect was identified as Daniel Elena Lopez. LAPD later found that he had a bike lock, and not a firearm. Multiple customers can be seen being attacked by him in surveillance footage.

It appears that the voice on both recordings is identical.

Vigliotti did note that officers “received calls of shots fired” but never played them for CBS viewers. He also seemed to be on a mission to smear the officers because he ended his segment by tossing out this context-free stat: “The LAPD has shot and killed 18 people this year, more than double compared to last year…”

The 9-1-1 only audio NBC Nightly News shared was of a woman telling people to “evacuate the building.” Correspondent Emilie Ikeda also reported that there were “9-1-1 is used to capture the confusion and conflicting information about the weapon that the man was using.”

Shea also spoke with Lt. Travis Norton of the California Association of Tactical Officers, a police union, who explained that “These officers that went inside the Burlington Coat Factory were faced with what we call some of the characteristics of a crisis, which are uncertainty. They’re making decisions based on confusing, ambiguous,And sometimes even conflicting information.”

CBS’s omission of critical context for an officer involved shooting was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Ameriprise and Prevagen. The link to their contact information allows you to tell them about biased news.

You can click on “expand to view the transcripts” below.

ABC’s World News Tonight
December 28, 2021
Eastern at 6:42:19

(…)

ZOHREEN SHAH: LAPD says the incident occurred when officers responded to 9-1-1 calls from an active shooter at North Hollywood Burlington on Thursday just before Christmas Eve.

CALLER: It’s just — it’s –it’s just — shots.

911 Operator

CALLER: Yes.

SHAH. The suspect was identified as Daniel Elena Lopez. LAPD claims that they discovered that the suspect was not carrying a gun but a lock on his bike. Multiple customers can be seen being attacked by him in surveillance footage.

UNIDENTIFIED OFFICER : Slow down. Let’s start with the rifle.

SHAH: A number of officers with guns responded to the scene and found one victim bleeding on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED BUREAU OFFICER

SHAH. Lopez was shot and killed by police officers. Valentina was struck with one of their bullets as it passed through a wall.

She was a dreamer and a great person, according to her family. His father is demanding tonight that those who shot and killed his daughter should be held accountable.

CBS Evening News
December 28, 2021
Eastern, 6:38:46

MAJOR GARTT: Parents of the 14 year-old girl shot to death in the clothing store’s dressing room by a Los Angeles Police officer’s stray bullet demanded justice today. The video was released by police a day before. This is CBS’s Jonathan Vigliotti.

[Cuts to video]

[ONSCREEN HEADLINE: Family Seeks Justice After Deadly LAPD Shooting]

9-1-1 CALLER: I had a hostile customer in my store attacking – attacking customers.

JONATHANVIGLIOTTI: The chaos created by 24-year-old Daniel Elena Lopez’s attack on a North Hollywood Burlington clothing boutique was captured via surveillance video and 9-1-1.

Security asked him to get out of the area. The suspect refused and chased down one woman on an escalator. He then continued the assault using a bicycle lock to beat another customer.

In a matter of minutes officers were on their way to the site. According to police, officers received several calls about shots fired as they made their way. The gunmen are seen in body camera footage as they enter the store. Elena Lopez continued hitting and kicking his victim while they made their way up to a store escalator.

Police officers traced a blood trail to Lopez, and then they shot him as he stood at end of aisle. At the end of it, he was declared dead. His gun was not found.

(…)

Eastern, 6:40:56

VIGLIOTTI. The incident has caused controversy over the police’s tactics. 18 victims were killed and shot by the LAPD this year. This is nearly double what was reported last year.