‘We continue to grieve’: Houston ISD shares more information on death of Marshall Middle School student

HOUSTON – 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.

• Houston ISD says student who suffered medical emergency at Marshall Middle School has died

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.

• Heartbroken father seeks answers after son dies following medical emergency at Marshall Middle School

“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.”