12-year-old girl dies after bully threw metal water bottle at classmate
Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa, 12-year-old student at Reseda High School in Los Angeles, California dies after school bullying episode as LAPD launches homicide investigation.
Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa, 12-year-old girl dies while trying to protect her sister from an alleged bullying incident at Reseda High School in Los Angeles as homicide investigation is launched. Student suffered brain injuries after having water bottle thrown at her head and mortally succumbed ten days later as girl’s family demand justice.
A 12-year-old girl has passed away after an apparent bullying incident at her Los Angeles area school led her to suffering catastrophic brain injuries.
Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa died in hospital on Wednesday, Feb. 25, after she underwent brain surgery tied to an incident that took place 10 days earlier at Reseda High, when she was allegedly hit in the head with a metal water bottle by another student in a hallway, KTLA reported.
The episode occurred as the girl sought to protect her sister from an alleged bullying incident at their Los Angeles area high school.
Reseda student suffered brain injuries and went into coma before passing away
Chuquipa’s family claims the preteen suffered severe headaches in the days after the incident at the San Fernando Valley school, but was sent home when taken to the emergency room. Days later, the 6th grader returned to the hospital after collapsing due to a brain hemorrhage.
‘Major blood vessels in her brain ruptured, and she was rushed to UCLA Children’s hospital, placed in an induced coma, and underwent complex emergency brain surgery,’ a GoFundMe page set up following Chuquipa’s death stated. ‘Her family remained by her side, praying and hoping she would come home, but at 3:30 a.m., her heart gave out.’
Khimberly Zavaleta Reseda High School 12-year-old student dies after school bully throws metal water bottle at her head
Homicide probe launched after Reseda student dies
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced that it is investigating Chuquipa’s death as a homicide, NBC 4 Los Angeles reported. Authorities have not released any other details surrounding the investigation at this time.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) stated that the organization ‘is deeply saddened by the death of a Reseda High School student.’
The LAUSD statement also said that the school district ‘remains committed to providing support to students, staff, and families affected by this loss, including counseling services and additional resources on campus.’
‘The District takes the safety and well-being of our students very seriously. We are currently cooperating with law enforcement in connection with this incident,’ the statement concluded.
Justice for Kimberly Zavaleta
Chuquipa’s mother, Elma, told NBC 4 Los Angeles, ‘I’m devastated. I’m full of pain, thinking about how I will never see my daughter again.’
‘It’s a cautionary tale that this should not happen to anybody’s kid,’ Chuquipa’s uncle, Guy Gazit, told Fox 11. ‘Its a fear of every parent, every uncle and every brother and every loved one to lose someone, but especially when it is someone who is so young that did nothing wrong to anybody.’
Read a statement from a GoFundme page on behalf of the 12-year-old girl’s family, ‘As the baby of our family, she brought a special light and joy into our lives.’
“She loved her family, music, volleyball, walks with her two beloved dogs, and had many dreams for the future.’
A group of students held a protest at Reseda High School Friday in support of Khimberly amid demands for justice for the 12-year-old.
‘We’re all sad. Because she was the one who gave all the energy to us, because she was so happy. She was always happy. She was always smiling,’ said Dayari Diaz, Khimberly’s friend who organized the protest with help from her mother.
‘We want justice for her,’ Dayari, also a student at the school, said according to NBC News. ‘The school is not doing anything.’
Not immediately clear is if Chuquipa or her sister had been ongoing victims of school bullying and what measures, if any, the school had set in place to address the trauma and victimization.
