By KABC Staff
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LOS ANGELES (KABC) — The mother of a 12-year-old girl in Reseda who died after a school fight is speaking out, saying her daughter was simply trying to protect her older sister from a group of bullies.
Khimberly Zavaleta’s family says she was hit in the head with a water bottle, then later suffered a brain injury. She died at a hospital on Wednesday.
Elma Chuquipa, the girl’s mother, spoke with Eyewitness News over the weekend and said the day of the incident, Khimberly was standing up to a group of students who were allegedly bullying her older sister.
“At dismissal time, she was in the school hallway when a tall boy came up to her … he was pushing her, and my daughter told him, ‘What’s your problem with me? Let’s go to the principal’s office and talk about it’ -but he ignored her,” said Chuquipa.
The mother said that when Khimberly stepped in to defend her sister, someone allegedly threw a water bottle at her.
“My daughter goes and pulls her away, so they don’t hit her sister, and that’s when [Khimberly] gets hit in the head.”
The fight was captured on video, but the footage does not show a water bottle being thrown.
“They were hitting her sister — my eldest daughter,” Chuquipa said. “In the video, you can see them pulling [Khimberly]. At one point, they hit her hard on the head, which led her to where she is now – in a morgue.”
The 12-year-old was taken to the emergency room, where initially, everything seemed fine, according to Chuquipa.
Days later, the mother said Khimberly suffered some complications.
“We took her to the emergency room, where she arrived with no vitals,” Chuquipa said. “My daughter was there, they tore her clothes, they gave her CPR, I was very scared, I cried a lot-I had this hope that she would get up from where she was.”
Chuquipa said doctors performed X-rays on Khimberly and found there was a lot of blood in her head.
She was intubated and was later transferred to another hospital.
“The doctor said, ‘We’re going to have to perform surgery,'” recalled the mother. “We’re going to open this part of her skull so we can remove all the blood, clean her up, and so on-it’s a six-hour surgery, the doctor tells me. ‘Save my daughter,’ I told the doctor.”
Chuquipa said doctors discussed a fourth surgery, but that they told her “there’s a 1% chance that your daughter will live or stay in the operating room.”
“As a mother, I felt so bad,” Chuquipa said. “We got together with my family … when we got together with my family, we agreed to do the surgery, which was a 1% chance, and I said, ‘There is hope’ … when we met with the doctors, they decided not to operate because my daughter’s brain was already dead.”
“It was very painful for me to leave my daughter in the hospital with the hope of coming home,” the mother said. “She always told me, ‘I will never leave you.’ When I was there, I said to her, ‘You told me you would never leave me.'”
The Los Angeles Police Department said the Robbery-Homicide Division, Valley Bureau Section, is investigating the case as a homicide, but that they won’t be releasing any more information because it involves juveniles.
Chuquipa said Khimberly – who was described as a sweet girl who was learning how to cook and loved to sing – was loved by many at the school.
She even wanted to become a doctor.
Chuquipa is now hoping for better safety measures at schools.
“Let’s hope there will be more safety for children,” the mother said. “I’m afraid to send my oldest daughter to school. I’m very afraid that something will happen to her. I already lost one daughter, and I don’t want to lose her too.”
The Los Angeles Unified School District released the following statement regarding the incident:
“The Los Angeles Unified School District is deeply saddened by the death of a Reseda High School student. Our thoughts and condolences are with the student’s family, friends, and the entire school community.
Out of respect for the family and to protect confidentiality, we cannot share details. The 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.”
On Friday, a group of students held a protest at Reseda High School in support of Khimberly.
“God is touching the heart of many people who are coming to ask for justice and to support me. I feel happy that at some point there will be justice,” said the 12-year-old’s mother, Elma Chuquipa.
Meantime, a GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with funeral and medical expenses.
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