A 12-year-old has been arrested in connection with the death of a classmate who was hit in the head with a metal water bottle.

Khimberly Zavaleta Chuquipa, also 12, was trying to protect her older sister from bullies at the time of the incident in Los Angeles.

She was taken to a nearby hospital where she was checked over and discharged.

But three days later, Khimberly was rushed to another hospital and placed in an induced coma to undergo emergency brain surgery to try and stop a haemorrhage.

Robert Glassman, a lawyer representing Khimberly’s family said: “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.”

The family are considering whether to take legal action against the hospital that initially treated Khimberly.

They also want to hold the Los Angeles Unified School District accountable for failing to intervene long before the fatal attack took place in February.

It is claimed that both Khimberly and her sister Sharon had been bullied, harassed and physically attacked for months when at school.

Mr Glassman added: “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.”

The school district has declined to comment.