Vigils held nationwide for nonbinary Oklahoma teenager who died following school bathroom fight
EDMOND, Okla.– Vigils were held across the country Friday and Saturday for an Oklahoma teenager who died the day after a fight in a high school bathroom, with the non-binary student claiming to have been the target of bullying.
Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old student from Oklahoma who identified as non-binary and used their pronouns, got into an argument with three girls in an Owasso High School bathroom who harassed Benedict and some friends. The girls attacked Benedict because he poured water on them, the teen told police in a video released Friday.
Benedict’s mother called emergency services to the family home the day after the fight and said Benedict’s breathing was shallow, their eyes were rolling back and their hands were curled, according to audio released by Owasso police.
Vigils for Benedict were held in locations including Boston, Minneapolis and Huntington Beach, California. Others were held or planned in several states, including Washington, New Jersey, New York and Texas.
Kanan Durham, executive director of Pride at the Pier, said Friday at the Huntington Beach event that “this one moment cannot be the only way we honor Nex.”
“This is a big deal for all of us,” Durham said in a KABC-TV report. “This community has experienced this kind of grief so many times.”
At a vigil Saturday in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the president of TahlEquality said Benedict’s death was traumatic and that the rights group made sure licensed therapists were available at the event.
“It’s very difficult to be a member of the LGBT community in Oklahoma these days because suicidal thoughts and ideation are quite common,” Sanj Cooper told KOKI-TV, adding that the LGBT+ community was also moved to speak out after Benedict’s death.
“We are certainly passionate: the fire in our bellies has been rekindled to continue fighting,” Cooper said. “In any case, it does not oppress us and does not ensure that our voices are not heard. If anything, it makes it louder.”
More than two dozen people gathered Friday at All Saints Episcopal Church in McAlester, Oklahoma, for a vigil organized by the McAlester Rainbow Connection.
Matt Blancett, who organized the vigil with the Rainbow Connection, an LGBTQ+ group, said it was important to hold a vigil in McAlester because of the 2020 murder of Dustin Parker, a transgender man.
“It shows people that we have a community, we’re here and we’re not going anywhere,” Blancett said.
All Saints Priest Janie Koch said it is important for people to reach out for support.
“It is very, very important because the range of emotions is constantly spreading, to look out for each other and be considerate of each other,” Koch said.
In the audio call to police, Benedict’s mother, Sue Benedict, said she wanted to press charges. The responding officer can be heard in the hospital video explaining that the teen started the altercation by throwing water and that the court would consider it a mutual fight.
According to a police search warrant, Sue Benedict told police on February 7 that she did not want to press charges at that time. Instead, she asked police to speak with Owasso High School officials about issues on campus among students.
The Feb. 9 search warrant, which was filed in court on Feb. 21, also shows that investigators took 137 photos at the school, including in the girl’s bathroom where the fight took place. They also collected two stains of stains from the bathroom and retrieved records and documents of the students involved in the altercation.
Although the two-week-old arrest warrant states that police were looking for evidence of a homicide, the department has since said that Benedict’s death was not the result of injuries sustained during the struggle, based on preliminary autopsy results.
Police said they do not plan to comment further on the teen’s cause of death until toxicology and other autopsy results are completed.