SoCal girl fight death ruled a homicide

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LONG BEACH, Calif., Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office says the death of a 10-year-old girl following a brief fight with a fifth-grade classmate has been ruled a homicide.

Joanna Ramos, who died Friday evening after a fight with an 11-year-old girl, suffered blunt force trauma to the head, the coroner's office said. The girls' after-classes confrontation in an alley near Frances Willard Elementary School in Long Beach, Calif., was over a boy, other classmates said.

Police said there were about seven witnesses to the fight, which lasted about a minute.

Joanna complained of a headache when she got home and began vomiting, eventually losing consciousness, her mother Cecilia Villanueva told KTLA-TV, Los Angeles.

Ramos, who underwent surgery for a blood clot in her brain, was pronounced dead just before 9 p.m. Friday.

The coroner's office said it will present its findings to prosecutors, who will determine if any charges will be filed.

There have been no allegations that Ramos was being bullied, KTLA reported Friday.