After-school fights have been happening for as long as there has been school, but an altercation in California has had an unusually tragic result: An 11-year old girl died after fighting with one of her classmates over a boy. The girl, who has been identified as Joanna Ramos, and an unnamed classmate had a pre-planned a fight for Friday after school in an alleyway near Willard Elementary in Long Beach, California. Ramos's friend Maggie Martinez described the fight: "They took off their backpacks, and they put their hair in a bun, and then that's when they said 'go' and that's when they started hitting each other."
No weapons were used, and police also said neither girl was knocked to the ground. Both of them walked away after the fight, but according to Joanna's mother, she had a nosebleed and said she felt sick on the way home. Several hours later, after she'd fallen asleep, Ramos's family knew something wasn't right and took her to the emergency room. She was in a coma. They did surgery, but by 9 p.m. Friday she had been declared dead.
There were at least seven kids watching the fight, and they, as well as the girl she fought with, have all been interviewed by police. Friends of the girls say they were fighting over a boy. One friend of Ramos's says she told a teacher, but it wasn't clear that any of the adults at the school knew a fight was set to take place. Deputy Chief Robert Luna said, "We are still trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together." No arrests are expected at this time.
Ca. girl, 11, fights classmate, dies hours later [AP]
11-year-old girl dies after preplanned fight with a classmate [Long Beach Press Telegram]
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