Police arrest 12-year-old on suspicion of murder after schoolgirl attacked with metal bottle

A 12-year-old has been arrested in connection with the death of a schoolgirl who was hit in the head with a metal water bottle during an alleged bullying incident. Khimberly Zavaleta, 12, has tragically died after a brutal attack with a metal water bottle at the hands of school bullies , her family claims. Khimberly wasn't the original focus of the alleged bullying, but when she bravely stepped in to defend her sister in the school hallway, she was struck in the head with a bottle, her relatives say. After the altercation on February 17, the young schoolgirl, from California, was taken to Valley Presbyterian Hospital where she was evaluated and released the same day. Three days later, she was taken to UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, where she was placed in an induced coma and underwent emergency brain surgery to try to stop a hemorrhage, the family said. Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings. Her uncle later clarified that she suffered a stroke after days of lingering headaches following the attack. Khimberly sadly died on February 25. The age and gender of the child arrested on suspicion of murder on Thursday has not been disclosed, Los Angeles Police Officer Charles Miller said. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, which will be responsible for filing charges, said Friday that the case was under investigation. Miller said that he couldn’t release any other information because both the victim and the suspect are juveniles. “This arrest is an important step toward accountability, but an arrest alone does not equal justice and does not answer the larger question of how this was allowed to happen in the first place,” Robert Glassman, the family’s attorney, said in email Friday. Glassman said the family has not ruled out taking legal action against Valley Presbyterian Hospital but that they are focused on supporting each other and holding the Los Angeles Unified School District accountable for its failure to intervene long before the fatal attack. The sisters had been bullied, harassed and physically attacked for months at school, and their mother reported the incidents to school officials, who failed to stop the abuse, he said. “The focus cannot stop with one student — there must be a hard look at what the adults in charge knew, when they knew it, and why meaningful action wasn’t taken sooner,” Glassman said. A spokesperson for LAUSD said the district does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation. You can donate to the family's GoFundMe page by clicking here.