Family and friends gathered for a vigil for a 12-year-old boy who died after being made to run during sweltering heat at his Lake Elsinore middle school. Tony Shin reports Sept. 1, 2023.
Family and friends gathered Friday night at a park to remember a 12-year-old middle school student who died after he collapsed during physical education class.
Yahshua Robinson collapsed Tuesday around 11 a.m. during his physical education class at Canyon Lake Middle School in Lake Elsinore. The temperature at the time in the western Riverside County community was in the low- to mid-90s.
Family members, who said they believe Yahshua's death was heat-related, have asked mourners to wear white and pink for the 6 p.m. tribute Friday at Rosetta Canyon Community Park.
Amarna Plummer said her nephew wasn't dressed for the physical education class and was told to run for not dressing appropriately. Plummer said Yahshua began feeling ill before he passed out on the field, according to other students.
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He died at a hospital.
"He was reaching out to the teacher, saying he needed some water. He said he couldn't breathe. He was telling the kids this,” Plummer told NBC4.
A Lake Elsinore Unified School District spokesperson initially said the district could not give specific details about Yahshua's death.
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The district released a statement, saying it was saddened to confirm the death "of one of our students due to a medical emergency at one of our LEUSD campuses."
The district released another statement on Sept. 7. It read:
“While clarifying misinformation circulating and causing confusion, we remain sensitive to the family and their need for as much respect and privacy as possible.
At this time, we can confirm that the students in the PE class were participating in routine activities outdoors. Students were dressed in PE attire and at no time were students penalized by running for not being dressed out for PE. All students in class participated in a warmup run that lasted approximately less than 1 minute and no one was denied water. When our student showed signs of physical distress, staff took prompt action to attend to the student and called emergency services.
Once again, we release this information for clarification and out of abundance of care for our students, our families, and our staff. We continue to cooperate with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department on the investigation.”
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department is investigating the death. A department spokesperson said the agency is still waiting for the results of the coroner's autopsy to determine the cause of death.
