A 12-year-old has been 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.
The juvenile, whose age and gender have not been released, was taken into custody on Thursday on suspicion of murder, according to Los Angeles Police Officer Charles Miller. The arrest relates to the February 25 death of 12-year-old Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa.
Khimberly was struck on February 17 at Reseda Charter High School, which also serves middle school students. She was trying to help her older sister, Sharon Zavaleta, who was being bullied by a group of students, the family said in a wrongful-death claim filed last month against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
She was taken to Valley Presbyterian Hospital, where she was evaluated and released the same day. Three days later, she was taken to UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, placed in an induced coma and underwent emergency brain surgery to try to stop a hemorrhage. She died on February 25.
Robert Glassman, the family’s attorney, said: “This arrest is an important step toward accountability, but an arrest alone does not equal justice and does not answer the larger question of how this was allowed to happen in the first place.” He added that the sisters had been bullied for months and that their mother reported incidents to school officials, who failed to stop the abuse.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office will determine formal charges. A spokesperson for LAUSD said the district does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation.
