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Owasso High School in Oklahoma

Photo: Mike Simons / AP

In the US state of Oklahoma, a 16-year-old non-binary person died, possibly as a result of a physical assault.

The incident took place on February 7th, and Nex Benedict was dead the following day. The case gained attention after a fundraising campaign for Benedict's funeral was started and national US media also picked up the case.

According to media reports, Nex Benedict died on February 8th, the exact cause of death is still unclear.

However, the day before there had been an incident at the school in Owasso, a suburb of Tulsa.

Accordingly, three classmates beat Nex Benedict and another person who also identifies as non-binary in a toilet.

The school notified the parents of the alleged victims of violence, but did not call the police.

This only happened after the mother, Sue Benedict, took her child to the hospital, the Owasso Police Department reported in a statement.

The school does not call the police or ambulance

The mother told the British "Independent" that Nex Benedict had bruises on his face and injuries to the back of his head.

Her child was pushed to the ground and hit her head hard.

She was outraged that the school did not call an ambulance or the police.

Instead, Nex was suspended for two weeks.

The school emphasized in a statement that the young people's argument did not last longer than two minutes because fellow students intervened.

After the incident, everyone involved went to the school principal's office on their own.

An investigation by the school nurse determined there was no need to call an ambulance, the report said.

The mother reports that Nex complained of a headache that evening.

On February 8th, her child collapsed in the family living room.

At the hospital it was only possible to determine that the teenager was dead.

Investigations must now clarify whether the death is directly related to the attack the previous day.

"The Owasso Criminal Investigation Department is conducting a thorough investigation and is currently awaiting the autopsy report and toxicology results," police said.

Bullying after coming out as non-binary

Neither the police nor the school said what led to the violence against Nex Benedict.

However, the mother tells the Independent that her child had been complaining about bullying since last year after coming out as non-binary.

"A lot of people push children to be a certain thing, but you have to let them find themselves and be what they should be," says Sue Benedict in the Independent.

Read about the everyday life of a trans student in Germany here.

The well-known US civil rights organization ACLU described the death of Nex Benedict as an "inevitable consequence of hateful rhetoric and discriminatory legislation directed against trans youth."

Every student must have the safe and affirming environment to thrive.

The queer organization Freedom Oklahoma admits that there is still no established connection between the death of Nex Benedict and the attack at the lecture, but describes it as a "hate crime" in a statement.

A fundraising campaign to cover Nex Benedict's funeral costs has now far exceeded its $15,000 goal.

"We are grateful for the continued support and did not expect the love from everyone," writes Sue Benedict in an update.

What's left of the money will go "to other children who have the right to be how they feel, in the name of Nex Benedict."

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