HOUSTON — The Houston Independent School District confirmed that a middle school student died Wednesday after suffering a "medical emergency."
It happened at Marshall Middle School in north Houston and a lot of students and staff members saw the medical emergency unfolding, according to HISD.
In an email to parents, provided to us by a Marshall Middle School mother Thursday morning, the principal said, "One of our eighth-grade students died. This loss is sure to raise many emotions, concerns, and questions for our entire school, especially our students."
The parent who provided the email from the principal said her daughter told her that the student got sick and had a seizure during P.E. class. That hasn't been confirmed. The student said she was in another class and that they kept them in the classes like a lockdown during the medical emergency.
On Wednesday night, HISD originally told KHOU 11 that the student suffered a "medical emergency" but wouldn't give any additional information. Then on Thursday afternoon, they released a statement, confirming the student's death.
This is the statement released Thursday.
"We are devastated by the loss of a student of Marshall Middle School. Our deepest sympathy and condolences go out to the parents and family. We are thankful for the quick thinking and actions of our school employees, school nurse, and police officers, as well as the swift response from multiple EMS and Houston fire department teams that responded to our 911 call.
We stand alongside the Marshall Middle School community. We have deployed resources and counseling to support all those impacted. We are continuing to gather information about this medical emergency and tragic loss. At this time, we are unable to provide further information out of respect for the family and their privacy.
HISD said its crisis response team would be at the school this week to offer support to students and staff.
State Rep. Christina Morales said she sent a letter to the Texas Education Agency and Houston Independent School District requesting information about the medical emergency and HISD's response.
"As the HISD board is no longer accountable to the people, I believe that it is my responsibility as a state leader to hold these appointed officials accountable. Our community matters, and our voices together are strong," Morales said.