HOUSTON — A father whose son died at a middle school on Wednesday is devastated and demanding answers from Houston Independent School District. He spoke exclusively to KHOU 11 on Thursday.
Late Thursday, HISD confirmed that a student died at Marshall Middle School after suffering a "medical emergency." The district said several students and staff members saw the tragedy unfolding.
Alexis Payton told KHOU 11 on Thursday that he rushed to the school after they called and said his 14-year-old son had collapsed in the gym.
"They said he had a seizure and then they said he got, they got him up, he was alert. And then by the time I got here, he had another seizure and that was it," Payton told us. "It’s been horrible. It’s been horrible, losing my son is horrible."
Landon Payton was rushed to the hospital but he didn't survive.
"I don't know how to feel," his father said. "All I feel is empty."
Payton said when he got to the school, he saw paramedics trying to save his son. He described it as very hot in the gym, saying it felt similar to the heat outside.
"When my son was dying on the floor in the gym, it was hot. We were sweating," Payton told us.
He went to the school with his son's godfather again on Thursday in search of answers.
"They say they were investigating. They didn’t give us no answers on nothing," the frustrated father said. "My main thing is that I want to talk to the gym teacher because he was the one in there and y’all have cameras in there, so why we can’t see the film?"
He said his son had no history of seizures and he's hoping an autopsy will give him more answers since the school district won't.
"They are trying to cover ... before they let anything loose because it ain't gonna go easy for me, and I'm not gonna make it easy for them," Payton told us.
We happened to speak with Payton on Monday when he was dropping his son off for the first day of school. Landon had just transferred to Marshall this school year and his father was concerned about transportation issues and his son's safety. Now, just a few days later, his son is dead.
HISD Superintendent Mike Miles mentioned the tragedy at Thursday night's school board meeting and asked for a moment of silence to remember Landon.
"We're continuing to gather information about the medical emergency and tragic loss," Miles said. "We're devastated by the loss of a student at Marshall Middle School. And our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the parents and the family."
State Rep. Christina Morales, whose district includes Marshall Middle School, also spoke exclusively with KHOU 11, demanding answers. She sent a letter to HISD and the Texas Education Agency.
"Right now, more than ever from this district, we need transparency and we need accountability," Morales told us. "And to wait this long to respond to the death of a child is unacceptable."
We reached out to HISD multiple times on Thursday and the district released a brief statement late in the afternoon.
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This is the statement released by HISD on 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.