A Los Angeles high school student has died after falling from a fourth-floor balcony at Benjamin Franklin High School in Highland Park following an altercation with another student.
Xavier Nungaray, a 17-year-old senior at the school, fell from the fourth floor shortly after 1 p.m. on Wednesday, September 30, according to witnesses. Police and emergency responders were called to the school after the incident, and the Los Angeles School Police Department described the situation as a medical emergency.
Witnesses said the teenager landed in the school’s quad. Welly Eng, who was at the school when it happened, said the incident followed an altercation between Nungaray and another student.
“The altercation occurred with the student and another student, which after that happened the student ran, of course and then fell,” Eng said.
Another student, Andrew Rivera, said he heard a “big thump” before students learned that the school had been placed under lockdown. Students remained inside for nearly three hours as authorities investigated what had happened.
The circumstances surrounding the fall have not been fully disclosed by police. Students who spoke about the incident said Nungaray had been involved in a dispute with another student, while some described the incident as connected to bullying. Authorities have not released further details about the altercation or explained what led to the fall.
The incident left parents and students deeply shaken. Jessica Gomez, a parent, said she immediately contacted her children after hearing that a student had fallen from the building.
“I heard a kid fell off the fourth floor. My heart was racing. I had to call my children to see if they were OK because no parent wants to have that phone call saying that your son or daughter unfortunately died,” Gomez said.
this is the “accidental” “fall” that killed a kid out in an LA high school. pic.twitter.com/7GrHE6lvgK
— The Mark Green Experience 🧀🥝 (@markgreen1978) October 2, 2026
A vigil was held outside the school on Thursday night, October 1, as students and members of the community gathered to remember Nungaray. Signs at the vigil included messages such as “Stop the hate. End bullying” and “See something. Say something.”
Friends remembered Nungaray as a funny and kind person. His death has also prompted renewed concern among parents and students about bullying and how conflicts between young people can escalate.
🚨Breaking: Xavier Nungaray was 17. A senior at Benjamin Franklin High in Highland Park.
On Wednesday, around 1 p.m., he went over a fourth-floor railing on campus and died.
His family says this was not random. They say he had been bullied through high school and was afraid to report it, because he thought he would be the one punished.
A vigil Thursday night filled the front of the school. Flowers. Candles. Signs that read “Stop the hate. End bullying” and “See something. Say something.” Friends remembered him as funny and kind. The kind of kid who could make a room laugh.
What the videos show is ugly. A classroom fight. A teacher trying to break it up. A punch. Then Xavier in the outdoor corridor, lifting himself over the rail. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.LAPD says there is no evidence of foul play. The other student has been identified and interviewed. No charges have been announced. Police have not said what led up to the fall. Family members are not buying the silence. They wanted the school closed. LAUSD kept it open with grief counselors. His stepmom says she came that morning to talk to the principal. The principal never showed.
A 17-year-old does not climb a fourth-floor rail in the middle of a school day for no reason. The fight video is public.
The bullying claim is on the record from his own family. The investigation is still open.
Highland Park is owed answers. So is Xavier.#Breaking #XavierNungaray #FranklinHigh #HighlandPark #LAUSD #StopBullying #JusticeForXavier #SeeSomethingSaySomething #LosAngeles #BreakingNews
— FlojoeTV (@FlojoeTV) October 2, 2026
Gomez urged parents to take reports of bullying seriously, even when the behavior is dismissed as joking.
“If you know your kid is bullying somebody, even if it’s as a joke, stop them there before it gets worse,” she said.
Police have not released additional details about the incident, and the circumstances surrounding Nungaray’s fall remain under investigation.
