A California teen girl died from injuries sustained during a fight with a bully inside a school washroom near Los Angeles earlier this month, according to her mother. Shaylee Mejia, 16, suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage reportedly linked to multiple intense fights she engaged in at Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, her distressed mother, Maria Juarez, told KTLA.
Video of the incident shows the teen girl having her hair pulled and hitting her head against a stall before collapsing onto the floor. The video also shows multiple punches being exchanged by the girls involved in the altercation throughout the brawl. The girl's condition worsened after a few days.
Fatal Fight
She complained about a headache but continued to attend classes for several days, according to her distressed mother. Four days later, Mejia attended a party where she fainted, prompting a friend to quickly take her to the hospital.
According to the outlet, doctors said that Mejia suffered a fatal hemorrhage as a result of a brain injury.
She never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead on March 15.
Juarez, a single mother of two, claimed that Mejia often came home covered in bruises after enrolling at the public school in South LA eight months prior.
Allegedly, the distressed mother took photographs and documented her daughter's injuries to bring them to the attention of school officials and campus police, but her appeals for help were reportedly disregarded, as per KTLA.
"Everybody knows about my daughter hitting her head, the teachers too," Juarez told the outlet. "Everybody knows."
Juarez, who works as a housekeeper and is the sole provider for her family, said that she only became aware of the March 5 fight following her daughter's death.
The grieving mother blamed the tragedy on the school, alleging that despite reporting the videos to officials and claiming nothing was done about the bullies, no action was taken.
Investigation on
The official cause of Mejia's death has yet to be determined, and an investigation is currently ongoing. Los Angeles police have said that they will also investigate claims that Mejia fell down a flight of stairs on the night of the party.
"I am saddened to report the recent death of one of our students off campus. On behalf of our entire school community, I want to offer my deepest condolences to those who are impacted by this loss, including the student's family, friends, and teachers," Manual Arts High School principal Alejandro Macias said in a statement obtained by KTLA.
A GoFundMe was set up to help Juarez cover the expenses for her daughter's funeral.
"We are trying to save money to help Shay's mom with the funeral expenses anything helps please help us put Shaylee to rest her death was very tragic to many of us," the fundraiser page read.
Mejia's brawl took place just days before another disturbing incident involving a 16-year-old teenager named Kaylee Gain, who was severely injured during a fight near Hazelwood East High School in Spanish Lake, Missouri, outside St. Louis, on March 8.
Gain's head was repeatedly slammed onto the pavement during the fight. As a result, she suffered a fractured skull, leading to life-threatening brain swelling and bleeding.
According to a statement released by the family attorney on Monday, Gain has not regained consciousness since the incident.
