– Candlelight vigil for nonbinary teen
– Downtown Wichita vigil for Oklahoma teen.

Accident – Death – Obituary News :

Candlelight Vigils Held Across the Country to Remember Nex Benedict

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Candlelight vigils are being held in cities across the country to remember the life of Nex Benedict, an Oklahoma high school student who tragically passed away one day after being involved in a fight in the school’s bathroom.

In Wichita on Sunday night, a gathering of dozens of community members took place at the Keeper of the Plains to share their thoughts and offer their condolences.

“This is our community,” said Riley Chiever, who attended the vigil. “Nex was one of us.”

Benedict, a 16-year-old who identified as nonbinary, passed away on February 8. The day before, Benedict and three girls were involved in an altercation at the school. In police body camera footage from a hospital bed after the incident, Benedict recounted how the girls had attacked after the teen poured water on them. Benedict mentioned that the girls had been bullying the teen and some friends.

“They came at me,” Benedict told a police investigator. “They grabbed onto my hair. I grabbed onto them, and I threw one of them into a paper towel dispenser. Then they got my legs out from underneath me and got me on the ground.”

Although Benedict was released from the hospital, the next day, the teen’s mother called emergency services to their home, reporting that Benedict’s breathing was shallow.

“Sometimes it takes a tragedy for someone to decide that’s enough,” said Jackie Carter, senior pastor at Table of Hope. “I’ve had enough now. I’m going to act. Our hope is that every one of these people who were here tonight will take action.”

An official cause of death has not been released, but Benedict’s family stated that the teen was bullied for identifying as nonbinary. In Wichita and many other cities outside Oklahoma, members and advocates of the LGBTQ+ community have come together to raise awareness of Benedict’s passing and support those who have faced discrimination.

The Owasso Police Department in Oklahoma has reported that preliminary autopsy results for Benedict did not indicate that the teenager died as a result of injuries sustained during the fight.

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– Candlelight vigil held in Downtown Wichita for Oklahoma nonbinary teen Nex Benedict
– Candlelight vigil in Downtown Wichita for Oklahoma nonbinary teen Nex Benedict.