Mom of Nungaray-Martinez files damages claim against LAUSD after son’s high school suicide

Detailed summary

LAUSD declined to comment on the claims.

A Los Angeles high school senior who jumped to his death after a classroom beating had endured years of bullying, his mother has alleged in a damages claim.

Xavier Nungaray-Martinez, 17, was repeatedly punched in the face and beaten at Benjamin Franklin High School in Highland Park on Sept. 30, while an LAUSD teacher stood nearby yelling for the students to stop.

But staff allegedly did nothing to physically end the attack, summon school police or security, or separate the assailant from Xavier, according to his mother Lilia Nungaray.

“Despite that knowledge, LAUSD and its employees failed to take the steps necessary to protect XAVIER,” the filing states, accusing employees of failing to “physically intervene to stop the assault once it began, rather than merely yelling at the students to stop.”

The claim further alleges staff failed to “summon school police, security, administrators, or other staff when the assault began” or “separate the assailant from Xavier and secure Xavier’s safety.”

LAUSD removed campus police officers in 2021 after George Floyd’s death, replacing them with roving officers who cover multiple schools and respond when called.

Administrators can request help for assaults and major fights, while staff must call 911 first in life-threatening emergencies, according to the department’s 2026 policy manual.

Xavier fled the classroom but moments later plunged from the fourth-floor railing. His mother alleges no staff followed him or rendered aid.

The claim further alleges that the blows to Xavier’s head left him dazed and disoriented, while the terror and confusion of the assault sent him into a panic.

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