A Los Angeles high school senior who died after jumping from a fourth-floor railing following a classroom beating had endured years of bullying, his mother alleges in a claim for damages.
Xavier Nungaray-Martinez, 17, was repeatedly punched in the face and beaten at Benjamin Franklin High School in Highland Park on Sept. 30. An LAUSD teacher reportedly stood nearby, shouting at the students to stop.
According to his mother, Lilia Nungaray, school staff did not physically intervene, call campus police or security, or separate Xavier from the student attacking him.
“Despite that knowledge, LAUSD and its employees failed to take the steps necessary to protect XAVIER,” the filing states. It accuses employees of failing to “physically intervene to stop the assault once it began, rather than merely yelling at the students to stop.”
The claim also alleges that staff did not “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 following the death of George Floyd, replacing them with roving officers assigned to cover multiple schools and respond when called.
Under the department’s 2026 policy manual, administrators may request assistance during assaults and major fights, while staff are required to call 911 first in life-threatening emergencies.
Xavier fled the classroom but, moments later, went over the fourth-floor railing. His mother alleges that no staff member followed him or provided medical aid.
The claim says the blows to Xavier’s head left him dazed and disoriented, while the fear and confusion of the attack triggered a panic response.
Nungaray filed the damages claim against LAUSD on Oct. 15, satisfying the mandatory legal requirement before suing a public agency in California.
Her attorneys at Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP accuse the district of negligence, inadequate student supervision and allowing a dangerous campus environment to continue.
The claim does not name a specific dollar figure. Instead, it seeks damages above California Superior Court’s minimum jurisdictional threshold of more than $35,000.
The filing describes what Xavier’s mother characterizes as years of unchecked bullying at the school, including an earlier episode in which administrators allegedly shifted some of the blame onto the teenager.
Several years before his death, Xavier and his mother met with Franklin High administrators about a separate bullying incident that occurred while he was a sophomore.
According to the claim, school officials did not simply address the alleged harassment but also held Xavier partly responsible for what had happened.
The experience allegedly made Xavier afraid to report future bullying because he believed he, rather than the students targeting him, would be punished.
His mother’s attorneys also criticize LAUSD’s anti-bullying policy, arguing that its language may discourage students from reporting abuse and gives administrators broad discretion to decide whether a complaint merits investigation.
The district’s policy describes bullying as both “underreported and over-identified” and cautions administrators against mistaking actual bullying for “a casual use of the word bullying.”
The filing argues that this approach may have contributed to silencing students like Xavier.
“A policy that tells administrators to be skeptical of students who report bullying is a policy that keeps students like XAVIER, who already feared that reporting would get him punished, from coming forward,” the claim states.
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The allegations also question whether LAUSD should have recognized the potentially deadly consequences of student violence before Xavier’s death.
The claim cites another fatal bullying incident at an LAUSD campus just seven months earlier.
On Feb. 17, a 12-year-old student at Reseda Charter High School was hit in the head with a metal water bottle during a bullying incident, according to the filing.
The child underwent emergency brain surgery but later died from her injuries. Her family subsequently filed a claim against LAUSD and sued the district.
“LAUSD also knew, well before September 30, 2026, that student-on-student violence on its campuses can kill,” Xavier’s family’s claim states.
“Seven months later, XAVIER was beaten in a Franklin High School classroom in front of a teacher, fled, and fell to his death.”
The filing also points to district-wide violence figures, alleging that LAUSD recorded 6,620 reported incidents involving fights and physical aggression during the 2023-2024 school year — a 33 percent increase from the previous year.
Nearly one in 10 students reported feeling physically unsafe at district schools, according to statistics cited in the claim.
The filing says even LAUSD’s own leadership had expressed concerns about the deteriorating situation.
Xavier’s mother alleges that the district failed in several areas, including adequately investigating the bullying, addressing the alleged aggressor’s history of violence, intervening during the classroom beating and monitoring Xavier after he fled.
The claim further alleges that the fourth-floor railing and insufficient barriers created a dangerous condition that posed a foreseeable risk to students.
It also accuses school employees of violating California’s Safe Place to Learn Act, which requires school personnel to take immediate steps to intervene when they witness bullying or harassment, provided it is safe to do so.
The filing alleges that a racial slur was directed at Xavier during the classroom attack and that the district failed to stop race-based harassment as required under state law. Video of the fight previously obtained by The Post appears to show the other student directing the n-word at Xavier.
Police sources previously told The Post that witnesses said Xavier may have initiated the fight, which was recorded and widely shared online. The LAPD has said detectives “have not identified evidence establishing a connection between allegations of bullying and the student’s death.”
The LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division continues to investigate Xavier’s death.
The filing does not identify the teacher who witnessed the beating.
Xavier is survived by his mother, who says the district’s failures cost her son his life.
“If LAUSD had taken reasonable steps to protect XAVIER, he would not have been beaten on Sept. 30, 2026, would not have gone over the fourth-floor railing, and would still be alive today,” the claim states.
LAUSD declined to comment on the claim.
“Los Angeles Unified does not comment on pending or ongoing litigation,” a Los Angeles Unified spokesperson told The Post.
