The Houston Federation of Teachers says staff members at Marshall Middle School told the union that the school’s defibrillator wasn’t working when an eighth-grade boy collapsed during gym class in front of other students and staff, who tried to help on Wednesday.
Defibrillators are used to help restore a person’s heartbeat when it stops.
“The teachers at the campus feel that it could have made a difference. The time lost trying to find the backup model, waiting for EMS to get there,” Corina Ortiz with the Houston Federation of Teachers said.
Ortiz said a third-party contractor is supposed to service the devices once a year, but it’s unclear if that happened at Marshall.
“Why was this machine not checked? What happened?” Ortiz asked.
Paramedics were called a little before 12:30 p.m. Wednesday and took the boy to the hospital, but HISD confirmed the student had died a day later.
It’s still not immediately clear what caused the child’s death.
“We are devastated by the loss of a student of Marshall Middle School. Our deepest sympathy and condolences go out to the parents and family,” HISD said in a statement on Thursday.