Nationwide Vigils Honor Nonbinary Teen Who Died Following Oklahoma School Fight

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) — Vigils took place across the nation for an Oklahoma teenager who died the day after a fight in a high school bathroom in which the nonbinary student said they were a target of bullying.

Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old who identified as nonbinary and used they/them pronouns, got into an altercation with three girls in an Owasso High School bathroom who were picking on Benedict and some friends. The girls attacked Benedict for pouring water on them, the teen told police in a video released Friday.

Benedict’s mother called emergency responders to the family home the day after the fight, saying 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 Oklahoma and locations across the country, including Boston, Minneapolis, New York and Huntington Beach, California in the days following the student’s death.

Kanan Durham, executive director of Pride at the Pier, said during the Huntington Beach event on Friday that “this single moment cannot be the only way that we honor Nex.”

“This is a lot for all of us,” Durham said in a report by KABC-TV in Los Angeles. “This community has experienced grief like this so many times before.”

Many of the gatherings were organized by LGBTQ+ groups to protest against the frequent bullying suffered by nonbinary teens. Benedict’s family says Nex was bullied at school.

At a vigil Saturday in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, the president of TahlEquality said Benedict’s death was traumatic and the rights group arranged for licensed therapists to be available at the event.

“It’s really hard being an LGBT community member in Oklahoma nowadays because suicide ideation and suicidal