The death of 17-year-old Benjamin Franklin High School student Xavier Nungaray-Martinez has been ruled a suicide after he went over a fourth-floor railing at the campus in Highland Park, Los Angeles, following a classroom fight.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner recorded the manner of death on Tuesday, stating that the teenager suffered multiple blunt traumatic injuries to his head and torso.
Nungaray-Martinez died on 30 September after the incident at the school on North Avenue 54. The campus was placed on lockdown for several hours while officers investigated, with students allowed to leave shortly before 4pm.
Investigation continues after Franklin High School death
Video reviewed by local television stations appears to show a student repeatedly punching Nungaray-Martinez inside a classroom while a teacher shouted for the fight to stop.
After the altercation, Nungaray-Martinez left the room and walked along the fourth-floor corridor. He then climbed over the railing and fell, footage shows.
Police have said preliminary evidence indicates he was not being actively chased, threatened or followed at the precise moment he went over the edge. The circumstances leading up to the fight, however, remain under investigation.
His family has alleged that he was subjected to bullying at school. No formal charges or arrests involving the other student have been announced.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s Northeast station, Los Angeles School Police and the medical examiner’s office have been involved in the investigation.
Marine Davtyan, the school’s principal, said privacy and confidentiality laws prevented the school from discussing further details. A statement issued through the Los Angeles Unified School District said the wellbeing of pupils and staff remained the school’s priority, with mental health professionals available to offer support.
Flowers and candles were left outside the school, while students, relatives and members of the Highland Park community gathered for a vigil in the days after the death.
