The death of Oklahoma student Nex Benedict has been ruled a suicide, according to a medical examiner’s report released Wednesday. The 16-year-old, who was transgender and used he and they pronouns, according to friends and family, died Feb. 8, a day after a fight at his school. His name has become a rallying cry among LGBTQ activists, who argue that an onslaught of legislation targeting the community has made schools less safe for queer and trans students like Nex.
Nex had reportedly told his mother that he faced bullying at school due to his gender identity, and body camera footage released last month by police the from hours following the school fight shows Nex lying in a hospital bed. In the video, he tells a police officer how three students “jumped” him after he threw water on them because they were bullying him and his friend for the way they dressed. The Owasso Police Department released preliminary information from an autopsy report on Feb. 21 that they said shows Nex’s death was not the result of traum