A child has been arrested in connection with the death of 12-year-old girl who was struck by a metal water bottle in an alleged bullying attack at her school.

Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa suffered a brain hemorrhage before slipping into a coma and dying after the Feb. 17 attack, during which she stepped in to protect her younger sister during a hallway confrontation at her Reseda school, her family said.

The death triggered a homicide investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department, which confirmed the arrest of an unidentified child on suspicion of murder Thursday.

AD

A man tending to Khimberly Zavaleta, a 12-year-old girl who suffered a brain injury after an altercation at school.
The tragedy has sparked urgent questions about bullying, student safety and how schools handle conflicts before they escalate into tragedy.GoFundMe

A young girl holds up a school project featuring images of New York landmarks.
She underwent emergency brain surgery and was placed in an induced coma, but tragically died on Feb. 25.GoFundMe
Video of the incident showed students pushing and arguing just moments before the fatal strike, and the footage has become a central piece of the family’s wrongful-death claim against the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The family alleges that school officials were aware of ongoing bullying tied to the incident but failed to intervene, creating a dangerous environment that contributed to Khimberly’s death.

“This arrest is an important step toward accountability, but it does not change the bigger truth: this tragedy was entirely preventable,” attorney Robert Glassman of Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP wrote in a statement obtained by CBS News.

A spokesperson for the LAUSD did not immediately respond to The California Post’s request for comment.

Khimberly Zavaleta and her sister.
A suspect has been arrested on suspicion of murder, though authorities have not released the suspect’s name due to their age.GoFundMe

Khimberly Zavaleta (second from left) with three children.
Friends, neighbors and classmates have shared grief and outrage online, including a GoFundMe campaign to support Khimberly’s family.GoFundMe

AD

Following the attack, Chuquipa was taken to Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys for evaluation and was subsequently released.

Three days later, she collapsed at home and was rushed back to the hospital, where doctors discovered a “catastrophic” brain hemorrhage.

She underwent emergency brain surgery and was placed in an induced coma, but tragically died on Feb. 25 at the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital.

“I’m devastated. I’m full of pain, thinking about how I will never see my daughter again,’ Elma Chuquipa, Khimberly’s mother, told NBC Los Angeles at the time.