A 12-year-old was arrested Thursday on suspicion of murder in the death of a classmate who was struck in the head with a metal water bottle in what authorities say was an alleged bullying incident at a Los Angeles school. Los Angeles Police Officer Charles Miller said the juvenile, whose exact age and gender were not disclosed, was taken into custody but provided no further details because both the victim and the suspect are minors.
The case centers on the February 17 incident at Reseda Charter High School, which also serves middle-school students. According to the victim’s family, 12-year-old Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa was hit in the head while trying to help her older sister, Sharon Zavaleta, who the family says was being harassed and bullied by a group of students.
Khimberly was evaluated and released from Valley Presbyterian Hospital the day of the assault. Three days later she was admitted to UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, placed in an induced coma and underwent emergency brain surgery to treat a hemorrhage. She died on February 25.
Family attorney Robert Glassman said the recent arrest is a significant development but does not explain how months of alleged bullying were allowed to continue. In a wrongful-death claim filed last month against the Los Angeles Unified School District, the family alleges the sisters were repeatedly bullied, harassed and physically attacked and that their mother reported those incidents to school officials who failed to stop the abuse.
Glassman said the family is concentrating on supporting one another and seeking accountability from the district. He added the family has not ruled out possible legal action against Valley Presbyterian Hospital. An LAUSD spokesperson declined to comment on pending litigation.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, which will determine whether to bring formal charges, had not immediately commented.
Separately, authorities in Georgia last month reported that 12-year-old Jada West, a sixth grader, died days after collapsing in the street following a fistfight near a school bus stop in her neighborhood.
