Authorities are investigating the death of a student Wednesday at a Highland Park high school.
The teenager fell from a balcony at Benjamin Franklin High School, police said. The circumstances surrounding the fall were unclear Wednesday night.
The incident took place at around 1 p.m. Wednesday at the school in the 800 block of North Avenue 54, according to a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson.
Few details were immediately available about why the student fell, but there is “no evidence of foul play,” said LAPD Officer Rosario Cervantes. The department is leading the death investigation.
Officials have only identified the victim as a male juvenile.
Students who spoke with KTLA-TV said a fight in a classroom preceded the incident.
The Los Angeles Fire Department transported the student to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Los Angeles School Police also responded to the incident.
Marine Davtyan, a Los Angeles Unified School District spokeswoman, told City News Service the medical emergency required the school to be placed on lockdown.
Former Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, whose district included Highland Park, posted on social media late Wednesday her “deepest condolences to the family and friends of the young student who lost his life at Franklin High School today. The investigation is ongoing. … Please remember that the student and those involved are minors and they need our love and support at this time.”
As videos of the incident circulated online, Carrillo urged, “Please do not share or repost graphic videos of this tragedy.”
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