A 16-year-old girl has died after her mother said she suffered severe
injuries from a school fight. She claims school officials failed to stop
the bullies from targeting the girl.

Cell phone video captured a violent altercation between two teen girls in
a bathroom at Manual Arts High School in South Los Angeles.

The victim, Shaylee Mejia, is seen hitting her head against a stall as she
falls down at one point.

The girl�s mother, Maria Juarez, is devastated and believes her daughter
died as a result of that bathroom fight.

Mejia enrolled at Manual Arts High about eight months ago after Juarez, a
single mother of two, moved the family into a new apartment.

After several months at the school, she said Mejia began coming home with
bruises all over her body, presumably from fights.

She took photos of the injuries and reportedly complained to school
officials and campus police but said nothing was done to address the
issue.

Meanwhile, her daughter continued being targeted by bullies at school,
with several of the fights captured on cell phone video by the teen�s
friends.

On March 5, Juarez said her daughter was involved in a school fight but
did not notify her because she didn�t want to cause worry. Juarez is a
housekeeper and the family�s sole provider so Mejia didn�t want her mother
to lose any work hours.

Juarez said her daughter complained of a headache for several days but
continued to attend school.

Later that week, she went to a party on Saturday night and that was the
last time Juarez would see her daughter alive.

She was told her daughter had fainted at the party and was rushed to the
hospital by a friend. Doctors said she suffered from a fatal hemorrhage
due to brain injuries.

Mejia never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead six days later
on March 15.

After her daughter�s death, that�s when Juarez was first notified about
the violent March 5 fight.

She presented videos of the fights to school officials but claimed nothing
was done to the perpetrators. She now blames the school for her daughter�s
death.

�Everybody knows about my daughter hitting her head, the teachers too,�
Juarez said. �Everybody knows.�

As Juarez struggles to process the pain of her daughter�s death, she said
her 3-year-old son is completely devastated.

�He�s sad,� Juarez said on the verge of tears. �He misses his sister. �I
just, I don�t know. I want to die.�

Los Angeles police confirm officers were called to the hospital the night
Mejia was admitted. The cause of her death remains under investigation.
Detectives are investigating claims that she may have fallen down a flight
of stairs that night.

A statement from the high school�s principal, Alejandro Macias, said in
part:

�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. At this time, we request that the
privacy of those who have been impacted be respected during this difficult
time. Please know that our entire school community offers our support.

Every member of the Manual Arts High School community matters and this
loss impacts us all. Our school has crisis counselors available to any
student who may need support. While this tragic incident took place
outside of school hours and off campus, our heartfelt thoughts remain with
those affected by this loss.�

A GoFundMe page to help Juarez with her daughter�s funeral expenses can be
found here.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/p7k36x-
shaylee?qid=1248f1fb7c7b28978d8b5aca18a40f90

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/teen-girl-dies-after-alleged-fight-with-
bullies-at-south-l-a-high-school/