A day after a fight inside an Oklahoma high school bathroom left a non-binary student dead, it led to national outcry and White House condemnation.
Owasso Police say the investigation into the Feb. 8 death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict continues, and the state medical examiner’s office has ruled it a suicide. Family members said their child was the victim of bullying at school because Nex identified as non-binary, neither male nor female. A full report into Benedict’s death is expected to be released on March 27th.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre referred to the preliminary autopsy report from the podium at a press conference on Friday, calling Benedict’s death “shocking.”
“As the President said yesterday, all young people are entitled to the fundamental rights and freedoms to be who they are and to feel safe and supported in their schools and communities,” Jean-Pierre said. Ta. “Bullying is completely unacceptable and it is the responsibility of all of us to take reports of bullying seriously.”
Researchers say “rapid-onset gender dysphoria” exists, but some theories deny it.
Maria Pira and Nex Benedict pose outside their home in Owasso, Oklahoma in December 2023. The death of Nex Benedict, a non-binary student, was ruled a suicide by the state medical examiner’s office the day after a fight inside a bathroom at an Oklahoma high school. The office made the announcement on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Sue Benedict, via AP)
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
The Benedict family released a statement through their attorney saying that while Nex’s death was ruled a suicide, there were “other relevant parts of the report” that “should not be overshadowed by the ‘classification’ of Nex’s death.” He emphasized.
“Rather than allow an incomplete account to take hold and spread further, the Benedicts have summarized findings that the coroner has not yet released, particularly findings that contradict the claim that the assault on Nex was minor. “We feel that we need to provide that,” the family lawyer said.
Details released by the family include that the boy suffered non-fatal head and neck trauma, including bruises, lacerations and abrasions. A portion of the full autopsy report released by the family said abrasions on Nex’s chest were consistent with those caused during CPR.
“The Benedicts continue to call on the school, administrators, elected officials and the community to come together to prevent other families from experiencing the heartache that Nex’s loved ones are inflicting,” the attorney said. “Reforms that create school environments that are built on respect, inclusion, and grace and that aim to eradicate bullying and hatred are the type of change that everyone involved can rally around.”
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The fight is said to have happened in the school’s bathroom. (St. Petersburg)
LGBTQ+ advocates say Nex’s death was caused not only by bullying and harassment based on her gender identity, but also by the “rhetoric and policies pushed by the Oklahoma Republican Party,” such as allowing children to undergo cross-sex hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery. The government is blaming this on the government’s laws, including a bill banning They are demanding the resignation of Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters. He said there are only two genders: male and female, and Oklahoma schools do not allow students to use preferred names or pronouns that differ from their birth gender.
“We want to be clear: whether Nex died as a direct result of the wounds he sustained in a brutal, hate-motivated attack at school, and whether Nex’s death was the result of a person named Nex. ” Freedom Oklahoma, the state’s largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said in a statement in February following Benedict’s death.
“This harm is absolutely related to the rhetoric and policies prevalent in the Oklahoma State Legislature, the State Department of Education, and the Governor’s Office regarding the dehumanization of 2STGNC+ people,” the group said. ” he said.
Mr Walters said Mr Benedict’s tragic death had been used for political purposes by the left.
“I think it’s terrible that there are radical leftists who are running for political purposes and trying to spin a narrative that is not true,” he said in an interview with The New York Times in February. “You have experienced a tragedy and caused people to try to exploit it for political gain.”
“We were told [Benedict’s] “The death was not directly related to the fight at school,” he added.
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CDC data previously revealed that 57% of high school girls experience persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. (St. Petersburg)
The boy died from a combined Prozac and Benadryl overdose, according to a report from the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office. A fight broke out in the school bathroom the day before.
In video footage from the hospital on Feb. 7, the day of the altercation, Nex tells officers that the boy and a group of friends were the subject of taunts over their clothing. Benedict, who preferred the they/them pronouns, claims that students “said things like, ‘Why are they laughing so much?'” in the bathroom. Refers to Nex and his friends.
“So I went over there and poured water on them, and all three of them came at me,” the teen told officers from his hospital bed.
“They came at me. They grabbed my hair. I grabbed them. I threw one of them into the paper towel dispenser and they grabbed my leg. He pulled my legs out from under me and pushed me to the ground,” the teen said. According to the Associated Press, the video.
The students allegedly beat the boy until he lost consciousness.
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The next day, paramedics responded to Benedict’s family’s 911 call and performed CPR on the unresponsive Nex before rushing him to the hospital, where the teenager later died.
On Thursday, a day after Nex’s death was ruled a suicide, the White House released a statement saying President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were “heartbroken” to mourn his death.
“All young people are entitled to fundamental rights and freedoms to be who they are and to feel safe and supported in their schools and communities. Nex Benedict, a boy who just wanted to be accepted, , will be with us today,” Biden said.
The president called on the nation to stand in solidarity with nonbinary and transgender people and “recommence efforts to end discrimination and address the suicide crisis that affects too many nonbinary and transgender children.” He urged them to work on it.
“Bullying is hurtful and cruel, and no one should have to face the kind of bullying Nex did. Parents and schools should take reports of bullying seriously,” Biden said.
