HOUSTON – The death certificate for a Marshall Middle School student who collapsed during gym class in Aug. 2024 offers no official cause of death, according to newly released records.
What happened?
Landon Payton, a student at Marshall Middle School, collapsed during gym class last August.
The district confirmed Landon experienced a medical emergency while inside the school’s gym. He was under the care of a P.E. teacher and a special education assistant at the time. Teachers immediately called for the school nurse and 911.
Students in the class had been participating in light physical activity and were in a free-play period when the incident happened. The gym’s temperature was recorded at 72 degrees, and no temperature issues were reported in the building that day, according to HISD.
The district says the school nurse, a registered nurse with more than 30 years of experience in cardiac and pulmonary care, provided medical assistance until EMS arrived.
Landon was pronounced dead on Aug. 14 at 2:03 p.m. His certificate of death lists the cause as “undetermined.”
While HISD officials have provided some details about the emergency response, Landon’s father, Alexis Payton, told KPRC 2 Investigative Reporter Bill Spencer he’s still searching for answers.
Payton said his son was shooting basketballs when he collapsed.
He visited Houston ISD‘s headquarters to watch video footage of the incident, hoping to better understand how school officials responded and whether the school’s Automated External Defibrillator was working at the time.
“I want to know what happened to my son, that’s it. I still don’t know,” Payton said.
READ THE FULL STORY: Heartbroken father seeks answers after son dies following medical emergency at Marshall Middle School
Under Texas law, every school is required to have a functioning AED on campus. Jackie Anderson, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, said she’s received troubling reports from staff members who claim the AED at Marshall Middle School was not working during Landon’s emergency.
“They said the nurse or someone went and got the defibrillator. They tried to use it on the boy, but it was not working,” Anderson told KPRC 2.
Anderson added that staff from four other HISD schools have raised similar concerns about AED issues at their campuses.
In a statement, HISD Superintendent Mike Miles called the incident a “tremendous loss” and said the district’s priority remains supporting Landon’s family and gathering information about what happened.
“Houston ISD experienced a tremendous loss. We are devastated by the death of Landon Payton, a Marshall Middle School student. Our deepest sympathy and condolences go out to his family. They are our utmost priority in this unimaginable time. We have been focused this week on gathering information for the family and have prioritized that above all else. We have also focused on providing resources and counseling to support the students and staff of Marshall Middle School.
“I am thankful for the swift actions of our school employees, school nurse, and police officers. I am also grateful for the rapid response from EMS and the Houston Fire department. I understand that many want to better understand what happened on August 14th. Right now, the district’s priority is communicating directly with Landon’s family and respecting their privacy. What we can share with you now is that Landon experienced a medical emergency during a P.E. class, and he received immediate medical assistance from HISD staff, HISD Police, and medical personnel. He also received medical assistance from EMS and was transferred to the hospital by the EMS team.
“As a father myself, my heart is broken for Landon’s family. The district is committed to them and will do everything we can to support them and our grieving community. The health and safety of our precious students is my top priority and the top priority of the HISD educators and staff. Again, I know you have more questions. This is the only information I can share at this time.”
What happened?
Houston ISD has released more information after a Marshall Middle School student died after a medical emergency Wednesday.
Landon Payton died after collapsing on the floor of the gym at Marshall Middle School.
“As we have shared, four days ago, HISD was rocked by the death of one of its students while in school. We continue to grieve with the family of Landon Payton and with the Marshall Middle School community. We will continue to do as much as we can to support the family as they go through this tremendously difficult period,” a statement from the district read in-part.
While the district said state and federal law prohibit them from releasing a student’s personal information, they did release some more details on the incident.
- Landon experienced a medical emergency in front of the P.E. teacher and special education assistant teacher in the gymnasium. Prior to this incident, teachers did not have any indications that the child was not feeling well. The teachers acted immediately, radioed for the school nurse, and called 911.
- The students in P.E. class had been engaged in light physical activity for most of the period and were in “free play” for the last part of the period when the medical emergency occurred. They were asked to sit down while the staff was caring for Landon and then shortly after released from the gymnasium.
- Medical officials have not provided the District with a cause of death. The District is not able to determine the cause of death, which can only be established by medical officials.
- The nurse who provided medical assistance to Landon is a registered nurse with an active license. Prior to starting with HISD in February 2024, she worked on staff at Harris Health System for 30 years, including service as a cardiac and pulmonary surgery nurse.
- The temperature reading in the gym immediately after the incident was 72 degrees. School administration did not raise temperature concerns for any part of the building during the day.
The district stressed that the information is preliminary and they await further information to fully understand what happened.
“From what we have been able to gather, we believe the staff and EMS responded quickly and appropriately. We believe they did everything they could and cared for Landon in a way that any parent would want his or her child cared for in an emergency,” the district said. “The District will share more information with the community as we are able. In the meantime, our deepest sympathies are with Landon’s family.”