Girl, 12, Found Dead After Threatening to Kill Herself

A 12-year-old girl who reportedly told classmates last week that she planned to kill herself died Wednesday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Wilmington apartment, authorities said.

Paramedics found the seventh-grade girl at her home in a two-story apartment complex in the 1200 block of Wilmington Boulevard after her older sister called 911 about 11:35 a.m., said Los Angeles Police Det. Chuck Hawley. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hawley said the girl’s sister found her sibling when she returned home from school. He said they recovered a handgun, but it was unclear how or from whom she had obtained the weapon.

Classmates who attended Wilmington Middle School with the girl said she had told them Friday that she had a knife and wanted to kill herself. Her schoolmates, who passed by the tan stucco apartment building after school Wednesday, said they didn’t take the threat seriously.

“It’s very sad, she was a really nice person,” said Joanna Rodriguez, a classmate of the girl. “I knew her since kindergarten.”

The apparent suicide led officials at Wilmington Middle School to assemble a crisis intervention team that was available to counsel students and teachers who were affected by her death. The principal sent each student home with a letter notifying parents of the death.

School officials said they were unaware of the reported threat the girl made and had not heard anything about her carrying a knife.

Principal Ernest Tarango said that the girl was an exemplary student and that there was no record of her carrying a weapon.

The girl’s parents were notified shortly after their daughter had shot herself and spent the afternoon at the Wilmington police station, where they were questioned about the incident. They were unavailable for comment.

“They are obviously feeling a lot of sorrow and sadness at this point,” Hawley said.

Neighbors said they did not hear a gunshot and were surprised that this neighborhood, where children laugh and play as they skate and ride bikes on the sidewalk had become a place of such sorrow.

“All the kids play out front and they always look so happy,” said Marie Gomez, 22, who was visiting her brother, who lives next door to the apartment complex. “This is real sad. It makes you wonder what kids think about these days.”

Neighborhood friends of the girl were equally saddened by her death.

“She was a kind girl who got good grades and was nice to everyone,” said Paulina Portillo, who said she had known the victim since third grade. “I can’t believe she shot herself.”