A Fredericksburg, Virginia, high school student playing basketball in the school’s gym collapsed and died Monday, the school principal said.
In a letter sent home to parents, James Monroe High School Principal Taneshia Rachal said the school had crisis teams and counselors on hand Tuesday to help grieving students.
“This loss is sure to raise many emotions, concerns and questions for our entire school, especially our students,” Rachal’s March 12 letter to parents said.
The 15-year-old sophomore collapsed in gym class shortly before the school day ended, Rachal told WTOP. The student, a thrower on the track team “was a phenomenal young man,” Rachal said, the kind of thoughtful student who would always greet her with a “good morning” or offer help to teachers and staff.
A GoFundMe page identifies the student as Tyvihon Kyzier Banks. The page, created by Banks’ mother, is seeking donations to help with funeral arrangements and the burial. “God bless you all and please keep our family in prayer as we prepare our hearts to put my baby to rest,” she wrote on the page.
Rachal said students and staff at the school are still shaken up by the student’s death and grieving his loss.
“It dropped me to my knees. I have never experienced this,” Rachal said. Along with three PE teaches and the school nurse, Rachal said she responded to the gym before paramedics arrived.
Students on social media organized a moment of silence Tuesday morning that Rachel said lasted for 10 minutes. “You could hear a pin drop in the commons area,” she said. Students have also hung up pictures and banners around the school to remember him.
She said the student’s death during the school day and on school grounds was particularly hard to handle.
“This young man was a big presence … I’ve never experienced anything like this and my prayer is that no one ever does,” Rachal said.
