Few Details Emerge in Case of 14-Year-Old HISD Student Who Died Last Week

Houston ISD has released a few more details, including the child’s name. of the 14-year-old Marshall Middle School student who became ill during gym class last week and died.

Landon Payton was in P.E. when he became ill in front of his physical education teacher and special ed assistant teacher as well as the rest of his class last Wednesday. Citing privacy and accuracy concerns, Superintendent Mike Miles has been circumspect about releasing any information, although following other news reports, it released the student’s identity.

“He received immediate medical assistance from the Marshall Middle School teachers, the HISD police and medical personal. He also received medical assistance from EMS and ws transferred to the hospital by the EMS team,” Miles said in a Friday statement.

The cause of death is still unknown, Miles has said. Landon’s father, Alexis Payton, went to the school administration building Friday, and questioned whether the nurse knew how to do CPR or use the AED, automated external defibrillator. Others have questioned whether the AED was in working order.

In the statement released this weekend, HISD said that the school district in its preliminary assessment believes “the staff and EMS responded quickly and appropriately.”

Saturday’s HISD release:

Update on the Death of a Marshall Middle School Student

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.

We continue to gather as much information as possible for Landon’s family. Put in the same situation, any person would want to know immediately the reasons for such a tragedy. And we understand that others have an ardent desire to know more as well.

We have been careful not to release partial information or speculation out of respect for the privacy of the student and his family, and also to ensure accuracy.

State and federal law prohibits any district from revealing a student’s personal information. The details shared below reflect that limitation.

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 information above is preliminary and we await further information to fully understand what happened, specifically Landon’s cause of death as determined by a medical professional. 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 will share more information with the community as we are able. In the meantime, our deepest sympathies are with Landon’s family.

Office of Public Affairs and Communications
Houston Independent School District