It seemed to be a regular day at Reseda Charter High School. For 12-year-old Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa, that day on February 17 would turn tragic.
Khimberly was on campus when she saw her older sister, Sharon, being bullied by a group of students, according to the family. It wasn’t the first time. Both sisters had been targets of bullying before.
Wanting to intervene, Khimberly stepped in. In the ensuing altercation, she was hit in the head with a metal water bottle. The injuries she sustained were so severe that she was hospitalized—and tragically, she later died.
Her passing left her family devastated and demanding answers.
“She dreamed of becoming a doctor, and she would always tell me that she would take care of me,” said her mother, Elma Chuquipa Sanchez, wiping away tears.
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### Family Files Wrongful Death Claim Against LAUSD
On Wednesday, Khimberly’s family filed a wrongful death claim against the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The claim alleges that school officials failed to properly investigate reports of bullying, did not adequately supervise student interactions, and did not implement effective safety measures.
An LAUSD spokesperson declined to comment on pending or ongoing litigation.
“When violence escalates, that’s a breakdown of student safety, and that’s exactly what happened here with the LAUSD,” said Robert Glassman, an attorney representing the family. He is a partner at one of the three law firms involved.
During a news conference Wednesday morning, Glassman emphasized that the tragedy highlights “the very real and devastating consequences of unchecked bullying.”
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### Allegations of Repeated Bullying Ignored
According to the family’s claim—a precursor to a formal lawsuit—the February 17 incident was not the first time the sisters had been bullied and harassed at school. Their mother had reportedly reported multiple bullying incidents to an LAUSD administrator, but “LAUSD did nothing,” the claim states.
Glassman noted that the same group of students had bullied other children at the school and had attacked another female student in the weeks leading up to the fatal incident. That attack was reportedly captured on video and posted on social media with the caption, “Happy Tuesday.”
A separate video showing the altercation involving Khimberly and her sister has also circulated online.
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### Medical Treatment and Questions Raised
Following the February 17 incident, Khimberly was taken to Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys. She was evaluated and sent home; however, three days later she underwent emergency brain surgery at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. She was placed in a medically induced coma and died on February 25.
Glassman stated that the family’s legal team is investigating whether Khimberly was properly examined during her initial hospital visit.
Despite this, he stressed that the tragedy underscores persistent bullying problems within LAUSD, the nation’s second-largest school district.
“Reports of bullying at this school district, quite frankly, are off the charts,” Glassman said. “According to a recent study, 1 out of 3 middle school students like Khimberly have experienced bullying at an LAUSD school.”
LAUSD officials declined to confirm that ratio. However, a 2017 internal audit found that 1 in 5 high school students and 1 in 4 elementary school students reported being bullied in the last school year.
“That is inexcusable,” Glassman added. “This is something the school district needs to take seriously.”
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### Additional Context on Bullying and School Environment
In December, researchers from UCLA and UC Riverside surveyed 606 public high school principals to assess how the Trump administration’s mass deportations affected students. About 36% of principals reported students from immigrant families had been bullied, and 64% observed a drop in attendance.
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### Details from the Video Evidence
During the news conference, Glassman played a 49-second video capturing the incident involving Khimberly and her sister prior to the moment Khimberly was struck with the metal water bottle.
The video begins with a young girl in blue pants picking up a metal water bottle from the ground and throwing it at another girl. A tall boy wearing a skullcap then appears to put the girl in a chokehold, while a bystander yells, “Fight, fight, fight.” The girl breaks free but is attacked again by the same girl at whom she initially threw the bottle. Nearby, a smaller girl in pinkish pants walks close behind.
In an interview on the YouTube podcast Tier Talk, the girls’ uncle, Guy Gazit, identified the girl in blue as Sharon and the one in pinkish pants as Khimberly. Contrary to Glassman’s account, Gazit said the video was recorded after Khimberly was hit with the water bottle, and that Sharon threw the bottle in response.
“As you see, she’s clinging on to her older sister and walks behind her because before that she came to the front and she was hit in the head,” Gazit said. When asked if Khimberly was already hurt, he replied, “She’s already hurt; she’s already complaining she’s dizzy.”
Gazit also claimed in the interview that school police officers were present on campus during the fight but that the other students involved were not disciplined.
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### Remembering Khimberly
At the Wednesday news conference, Khimberly’s parents stood together, overcome with emotion, as they fondly remembered their daughter. They described her as an outgoing young girl who loved to sing, dance, and was learning to cook.
Between them were two large photos of Khimberly. In one, she and her sister hugged their mother, who knelt over the Hollywood star of actor Christopher Reeve. In the other, a 9-year-old Khimberly held drawings and pictures for a school project.
“I helped her with it,” her father said softly, managing a slight smile. “She got a good grade on it.”
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### Wider Scrutiny on LAUSD Amid Controversies
Khimberly’s death adds to the scrutiny facing LAUSD, which is currently embroiled in multiple controversies.
Just last week, a staff member at Carson High School was put on leave after allegedly sparking a series of fights on campus.
Two weeks earlier, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho was placed on paid administrative leave amid an FBI investigation following raids on his home and district offices.
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### Past Incidents Echo Familiar Concerns
This is not the first time LAUSD has faced blame in the death of a student amid bullying allegations. In March 2024, 16-year-old Shaylee Mejia died after suffering a brain hemorrhage. Her family claimed the fatal injury was linked to a school fight related to bullying.
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The tragedy of Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa has reignited calls for the Los Angeles Unified School District to address bullying with urgency and ensure student safety on its campuses.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-03-11/family-alleges-lausd-knew-about-bullying-prior-to-students-death
