A grieving mother is suing the Los Angeles Unified School District alleging officials failed to stop repeated bullying before her 12-year-old daughter was fatally struck during a fight.
Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa died after she was hit in the head with a metal water bottle during an on-campus confrontation at Reseda Charter High School in February.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, she said she had raised concerns about bullying before the incident—warnings she believes were ignored as tensions escalated.
“The school has a lot to answer for, because, well, they did nothing,” her mother, Elma Chuquipa Sanchez, said.
“Every single day, I would head to the school, and I was there making a fuss about ongoing bullying.
The suit alleges the district did not take adequate steps to protect her daughter despite those complaints, putting responsibility on the school district for failing to intervene before the situation turned violent.
Khimberly had stepped in during a dispute involving her older sister when she was struck. Her sister—Sharon—told the outlet she’s plagued by guilt.
“I blame myself,” she said. “If she hadn’t gotten involved, she’d be here with me.”
The 12-year-old was initially treated and released, but her condition worsened in the following days. She was hospitalized, underwent emergency brain surgery, and died just days later.
Her mother has framed the legal action as a fight for accountability, questioning why stronger action wasn’t taken earlier despite what she described as clear warning signs.
Tanya Ortiz Franklin, an LAUSD board member, played down the incident. While she can’t comment on the case, she told The Times she does not believe that bullying is a major issue across the district.
The family’s attorney, Robert Glassman, points otherwise—since taking on the case, his firm has been inundated with calls about bullying at LAUSD.
“Every day, including today, we get so many calls from parents, mainly, but also from some teachers, saying this is such a pervasive epidemic at the district that something needs to get done,” he explained.
A juvenile has been arrested in connection with the attack, which authorities are investigating as a homicide.
“They waited until my daughter died to finally take action,” said Chuquipa Sanchez. “It wasn’t fair that they [the bullies] continued going to school and my daughters suffered. One had to change schools, and we buried the other.”
