Killing of Jonathan Lewis

On November 1, 2023, Jonathan Edward Lewis Jr., a 17-year-old student at Rancho High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., was attacked by a mob of students at the school. Lewis had been standing up for a friend who was bullied by the students. He succumbed to injuries from the assault on November 7, 2023.

Background
Jonathan Lewis Jr. was described by his father Jonathan Sr. as "a loving, giving, kind, fierce young man who loved community and caring for others." He aspired to become an artist, being interested in drawing, photography and painting and a connoisseur in music, especially hip hop. He was also considering joining the military, like his grandfather who served in the U.S. Navy. At the time of his death, Lewis lived with his mother and had plans to move to Austin, Texas with his father.

Incident
The incident that led to the death of Jonathan Lewis reportedly began when earlier in the week, a group of bullies stole a pair of wireless headphones and possibly a marijuana vape pen from a student, who was a friend of Lewis and smaller than him,     and threw him into a trash can. Following that, the students agreed to meet in a back alley around a corner from campus to fight, which happened after classes on Wednesday, November 1, 2023. Initially, Jonathan was not planned to be involved in the altercation but accompanied his friend to the alleyway where the incident took place. They faced against a mob of approximately 15 students. A video of the brawl shows Lewis taking off his shirt to prepare for the fight, before being swarmed, pushed against a fence and forced onto the ground, where he is punched, kicked and stomped on by 10 individuals.

After the assault, Lewis was found badly beaten and unconscious by a person who carried him back to campus, where the school staff called 911. He was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, where he was hospitalized and placed on life support. Doctors soon determined he had "nonsurvivable head trauma". Six days later on November 7, Lewis was declared medically brain dead. An autopsy performed by the Clark County coroner's office determined that the cause of death was blunt force trauma.

Investigation
Nine juveniles have been taken into custody and are facing murder charges. The suspects range in age from 13 to 17 and are students at Rancho High School. Four of the teenagers, identified as Gianni Robinson, Damien Hernandez, Treavion Randolph and Dontral Beaver, will be tried as adults since they are in the age range of 16 to 17. The other teenagers were ordered to be held in juvenile detention center until the certification hearings could be held on December 6, 2023, due to their ages ranging from 13 to 15. The remaining student that participated in the beating is still at large. In January 2024, a 15-year-old pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and will be committed to Child Correctional Services. In February, two more of the defendant’s under 16, including the 13-year-old pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter.