Community members are expected to gather Thursday evening for a vigil mourning a student who fell to his death at Benjamin Franklin High School.
The memorial at the Highland Park campus is planned for 5 p.m., according to an Instagram post, which asks the community to bring flowers and anything else to remember the student. Police have not released the student’s name, but social media posts and an online fundraiser have identified him by the first name Xavier.
Police said a boy fell from a school balcony around 1 p.m. Wednesday. The Los Angeles Fire Department took the boy to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Though circumstances leading up to the death still were being investigated, there was no evidence of foul play, authorities said.
A video circulating online, described as occurring Wednesday at Franklin High, shows a fight in a classroom between two students, with one hitting the other, and a boy later appearing to jump off a balcony as another student approaches.
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating. A spokesman said Thursday that the department did not have any additional details to share.
Franklin High on Wednesday sent a message to families that said it also couldn’t share additional information given privacy and confidentially laws, but that mental health professionals would be on site through Thursday to provide student support.
“We encourage families to check in with their children and remind them that it is okay to seek support when needed,” the message said.
A GoFundMe fundraising page described Xavier as “a beautiful, caring, and loving boy who meant so much to the people around him.”
The fundraiser set an initial goal of $12,000 to “cover funeral services and ease some of the financial burden [for the family] during this incredibly difficult time.”
As of early Thursday afternoon, more than $32,000 had been raised.
