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Family of 12-year-old who died after being hit with metal bottle at Reseda school files claim, says LAUSD failed to stop bullying

March 12, 2026

The family of a 12-year-old girl who died after being struck in the head with a metal water bottle at Reseda Charter High School filed a wrongful death claim against the Los Angeles Unified School District on Wednesday, March 11, citing failures to stop bullying against Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa and her sister that had been reported to the administration multiple times, the family’s lawyers said.

Zavaleta Chuquipa and her sister Sharon were physically attacked on Feb. 17. She was attempting to intervene when her sister was being bullied at school when she was struck with a metal water bottle. She underwent emergency brain surgery, but was placed on life support and died of her injuries on Feb. 25.

The family’s claim alleges that multiple incidents of bullying, physical assault and verbal harassment Zavaleta Chuquipa and her sister Sharon experienced at school were reported to an LAUSD administrator by their mother.

Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa, 12, died on Feb. 25 after being hit in the head with a metal water bottle days earlier at Reseda Charter High School. Her family filed a wrongful death claim against the Los Angeles Unified School District. (Photo Courtesy of Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP)

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“If LAUSD had taken reasonable steps to prevent KHIMBERLY and SHARON from being bullied, KHIMBERLY would not have been bullied and physically attacked on February 17, 2026, and she would still be alive today,” the family’s claim, filed by law firm Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP, says.

A claim is a possible precursor to a lawsuit. An LAUSD representative said the district does not comment on pending on ongoing litigation.

The claim also alleges the group of students that bullied Zavaleta Chuquipa and her sister on Feb. 17 had been involved in other instances of bullying, including an attack on another girl six weeks before the sisters were attacked. This previous attack was filmed and “widely circulated amongst students and even teachers,” but no action was taken against the students, according to the family’s lawyers.

A video clip of the Feb. 17 bullying, made available by the family’s lawyers, shows Zavaleta Chuquipa’s sister, clad in blue pants, being pushed around and surrounded by a group. Zavaleta Chuquipa, wearing pink pants, approaches. From off camera, someone calls out “fight, fight” repeatedly. It is unclear if the water bottle was thrown at Zavaleta Chuquipa before or after the clip.

The claim alleges that the school district was negligent and responsible for Zavaleta Chuquipa’s wrongful death, arguing that the school did not supervise students adequately, identify or document bullies, discipline bullies, consider identity-based bullying such as targeting students from immigrant families or review security footage, some of the steps the district could have taken to prevent further bullying of the sisters.

“LAUSD breached their duty when they failed to warn KHIMBERLY and SHARON that they would not be taking any action to stop this bullying, such as disciplining the bullies or removing the bullies from the classes of KHIMBERLY or SHARON,” the claim reads in part.

The claim does not seek a specific amount of financial damages.

“Schools have a legal responsibility to protect the children in their care,” said Robert Glassman, partner with Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP and one of the attorneys representing the family. “When administrators are repeatedly warned that a child is being bullied and physically assaulted, they must take action. Tragically, in this case, that did not happen.”

According to the family’s attorneys, Zavaleta Chuquipa’s family remembers her as a caring and protective sister.

The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the attack.

City News Service contributed to this report

Family of 12-year-old who died after being hit with metal bottle at Reseda school files claim, says LAUSD failed to stop bullying Orange County Register

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Family of 12-year-old who died after being hit with metal bottle at Reseda school files claim, says LAUSD failed to stop bullying

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