Oklahoma
Candlelight vigil held in Downtown Wichita for Oklahoma nonbinary teen 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 died one day after being involved in a fight in the school’s bathroom.
In Wichita Sunday night, dozens of community members gathered at the Keeper of the Plains to share their thoughts and offer their condolences.
“This is our people,” said Riley Chiever who attended the vigil. “Nex was one of us.”
Benedict, a 16-year-old who identified as nonbinary, died on February 8. One day earlier, Benedict and three girls got into an altercation at the school. In police body camera footage from a hospital bed after the fight, Benedict told a police investigator that the girls had attacked after the teen poured water on them. Benedict said the girls were picking on the teen and some friends.
“They came at me,” Benedict told a police investigator. “They grabbed on to 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.”
Benedict was released from the hospital, but the next day, the teen’s mother called emergency crews to their home saying Benedict’s breathing was shallow,
“Sometimes it takes a tragedy for some other person 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 that were here tonight will act.”
An official cause of death has not been released, but Benedict’s family said the teen was bullied for identifying as a nonbinary. In Wichita and many other cities outside Oklahoma, members and advocates of the LGBTQ+ community have rallied to bring awareness to Benedict’s death and help those that have been a victim of discrimination.
The Owasso Police Department in Oklahoma has reported that Benedict’s preliminary autopsy results did not indicate that the teenager died as a result of injuries during the fight.
Copyright 2024 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com
Carson Field has worked full-time in the sports media industry since 2020 in Colorado, Texas and Wyoming as well as nationally, and he has earned degrees from Arizona State University and Texas A&M University. When he isn’t covering the Sooners, he’s likely golfing, fishing or doing something else outdoors.
Twitter: https://x.com/carsondfield
Oklahoma City Thunder (7-0, first in the Western Conference) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (4-3, eighth in the Western Conference)
Portland, Oregon; Wednesday, 10 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -4.5; over/under is 228.5
BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma City visits Portland aiming to prolong its three-game road winning streak.
Portland finished 36-46 overall and 19-33 in Western Conference games a season ago. The Trail Blazers allowed opponents to score 113.9 points per game and shoot 47.1% from the field last season.
Oklahoma City finished 68-14 overall and 39-13 in Western Conference play during the 2024-25 season. The Thunder averaged 26.9 assists per game on 44.6 made field goals last season.
INJURIES: Trail Blazers: Scoot Henderson: out (hamstring), Matisse Thybulle: out (thumb), Blake Wesley: out (foot), Shaedon Sharpe: day to day (calf), Damian Lillard: out for season (achilles).
Thunder: Nikola Topic: out (groin), Jalen Williams: out (wrist), Kenrich Williams: out (knee), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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