A student died after falling from a fourth-floor corridor at Benjamin Franklin High School in Highland Park on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. The Los Angeles Police Department was investigating as of the Los Angeles Times’ October 1 report. Authorities said there was no evidence of foul play, but had not established what led to the fall.
What happened at Benjamin Franklin High School?
Police said the student fell at about 1 p.m. on September 30 at the Los Angeles school. The Los Angeles Fire Department took the student to a hospital, where the student was pronounced dead, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Times described videos circulating online as appearing to show a classroom fight followed later by a male student going over the railing of a fourth-floor outdoor corridor as another student approached. Its report said footage descriptions included a teacher attempting to intervene. These are accounts of video reported by the newspaper, not official findings about what caused the fall or whether it was intentional.
What has been confirmed about the investigation?
The Los Angeles Police Department was investigating, but a department spokesman had no further details to share at the time of the Times report. Authorities said there was no evidence of foul play. The circumstances leading to the fall remained unclear, and officials had not released details about what happened before it.
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Has the student’s identity been released?
The Times reported that authorities had not released the student’s identity. Mourners and social media posts, as well as an online fundraiser, used the name “Xavier”; that is community-reported identification, not an official identification.
How did the school community respond?
Hundreds of mourners attended a vigil at the school on Thursday, October 1, according to the Times. Students returned to class, and a school message to families said mental-health professionals would be available and encouraged families to check in with their children.
Ninth-grader Andrew Rivas told the Times: “That just shows to you that, like you never know what someone’s going through, and that you should always, if someone seems sad or anything, just check up on them.”
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