Dozens of students at an Oklahoma high school showed support for the LGBTQ+ community Monday after a non-binary teen died in a fight in a school bathroom that they say was the target of bullying. held a peaceful demonstration.
Local police say Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old student who identified as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, was arrested after an “argument” with a classmate in a bathroom at Owasso High School. He died on February 8th.
Body camera footage later released by police showed Benedict describing an altercation with three girls who had come to bully him and some of his friends.
At least 40 students at Owasso High School walked out to protest, saying there was a pervasive culture of bullying with little accountability, NBC reported. “I just want to get the word out and show the kids that we’re here,” Owasso graduate and march organizer Cassidy Brown told KTUL. “There is definitely a community in this city, we see them, and they are loved.”
Vigils were held in Benedict’s honor in Oklahoma and across the country, and hundreds of people gathered for Benedict at Redbud Festival Park in Owasso on Sunday night. Many of the rallies were organized by LGBTQ+ groups to protest the frequent bullying that non-binary teens are subjected to.
“Kids are going to school every day scared to death. Something has to stop,” said Susie Eubank, an Owasso parent. “My child has received direct threats. Direct derogatory comments.”
Benedict’s mother, Sue Benedict, said in an interview with The Independent that her child had been bullied by other students because of his gender identity. The bullying began shortly after Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill banning transgender public school students from using the bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity.
Police said that based on preliminary autopsy results, Benedict’s death was not caused by injuries sustained in the bathroom fight. No arrests have been made in connection with Benedict’s death.
