A Las Vegas teenager died after he was attacked this month by about 15 people while defending a friend, his father said.
A juvenile was in a fight Nov. 1 with more than a dozen people near Rancho High School, Las Vegas police said in a statement. At least some of the fight was recorded and shared on social media.
Jonathan Lewis Jr.’s death was confirmed on a memorial website written by his father.
“After holding my son’s hand in the hospital while he was on life support for 2 days and nights and watching his life leave his body and being shocked by the enormity and horror in which my beloved boy was just killed, I felt a mission about acting that touched me to my core,” his father, Jonathan Lewis Sr., wrote on the website.
The website continued: “Jonathan was a hero who tried to help a smaller child who was being bullied and 15 people attacked him in cowardly violence and our beloved son was killed!”
The teenager was an aspiring artist who was kind and generous and “had her whole life ahead of her,” according to the website.
A verified GoFundMe for the boy’s family linked to the memorial website.
Jonathan Lewis Sr. could not be reached Monday for comment.
In a statement, the Clark County School District said it is working with authorities “to hold those involved accountable for their actions.”
“CCSD does not tolerate violence or threats to students or their safety,” the statement said. “We must all come together as a community to meet the needs of our students so that disagreements are resolved through dialogue rather than violence.”
In the Nov. 1 statement, police said the victim “was involved in a physical altercation with approximately 15 people prior to officers’ arrival,” police said.
School personnel performed CPR on the victim, who appeared to be unconscious, and the victim was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said.
The department’s homicide section was investigating because of the “significant injuries” the victim sustained, police said at the time.
A police spokesman said Monday afternoon that the investigation is ongoing and declined further comment.
A representative from the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner declined comment Monday, citing a pending case.
