13-year-old Kashala Francis has died less than a week after two of her fellow classmates beat her as she was walking home from school in Houston, Texas. One of the girls reportedly kicked Francis in the head, where doctors later discovered she had a tumor.
Francis, a student at Attucks Middle School, passed at the Texas Children's Hospital on Wednesday morning. According to police, it remains unclear whether Francis died as a result of the tumor, or the fight she was involved in the week prior.
The young girl reportedly came home after the violent attack on Thursday with a bruise on her face, although she insisted to her mother that she was okay. A couple days later, family members noticed that Kashala was acting delusional and by Sunday, she was complaining to her mother of a painful headache she was experiencing.
"I drove over and I told her get up. I said 'Get up, Kashala.' She kept saying, 'Mama, my head hurt,' so she laid down," Mamie Jackson, Kashala's mother, told local ABC station KTRK. According to Jackson, Francis was already unconcious by the time paramedics arrived at the scene.
Shortly thereafter she fell into a coma, which is when doctors discovered a large tumor at the back of Francis' head and fluid which had built up in her brain. Houston Police Department spokesperson Victor Senties stated that Francis' death is being investigated as a homicide as they wait for the results of the autopsy. "Until the autopsy is finished, we won't know," he told ABC.
The Houston Independent School District also released a statement following the tragedy, stating they will cooperate with authorities in their investigation into the "off-campus altercation."
"She did not deserve that … I’ve never met a person who has come into contact with Kashala who has not fallen in love with her," Jackson said during an emotional interview. "So, if she had a tumor in her head that were we unknowing about, and somebody repeatedly stomped and kicked and punched you in your head — you’re not even fighting back — is it going to be better or is it going to be worse?"
