A 12-year-old was arrested in connection with the death of a classmate who was struck in the head with a metal water bottle during an alleged bullying incident at a Los Angeles school, authorities said Friday.
Los Angeles Police Officer Charles Miller said the juvenile, whose exact age and gender have not been released, was taken into custody Thursday on suspicion of murder. The case involves the February 25 death of 12-year-old Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, which will decide formal charges, did not immediately comment.
Miller said he could not provide additional details because both the victim and the suspect are juveniles. According to the family, Khimberly was hit in the head on February 17 while trying to help her older sister, Sharon Zavaleta, who was being bullied by a group of students at Reseda Charter High School, which includes a middle school.
Family attorney Robert Glassman said the arrest is an important step but does not answer broader questions about how the situation was allowed to unfold. In a wrongful-death claim filed last month against the Los Angeles Unified School District, the family alleges the sisters had been bullied, harassed and physically attacked for months and that their mother had reported the incidents to school officials who failed to stop the abuse.
Khimberly was taken to Valley Presbyterian Hospital after the February 17 incident, evaluated and released the same day. 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.
Glassman said the family is focused on supporting one another and pursuing accountability from the school district, and has not ruled out possible legal action against Valley Presbyterian Hospital. An LAUSD spokesperson said the district does not comment on ongoing or pending litigation.
Separately, police in Georgia last month said a 12-year-old girl, Jada West, a sixth grader, died days after collapsing in the street following a fistfight near a school bus stop in her neighborhood.
