A Shawnee Mission Northwest student died earlier this week as a result of a medical emergency during football practice.

In an email to parents and families Friday morning, SM Northwest Principal Lisa Gruman identified the student as Ovet Gomez Regalado, a sophomore at the school.

“This is such a difficult loss for our community and we will provide additional support to anyone who needs it – staff or students,” Gruman said in her email.

This is the fourth SM Northwest student to die in the last 14 months.

A “medical emergency” during football training

A Johnson County Med-Act ambulance responded to a “medical emergency” at SM Northwest Wednesday afternoon, according to Emergency Services spokesman Joe Folsom.

There, “they found a 15-year-old patient who was in critical condition,” Folsom said. The teenager was taken to a local hospital.

Gruman informed employees of the incident in an email the next day, saying that a football player had required “emergency medical attention” during a practice the night before and had been treated at the hospital.

“We want to respect the family’s needs at this time and keep them in our thoughts while the student is cared for by his medical team,” Gruman said in her email Thursday.

Students and teachers are in shock

At 10:40 a.m. on Friday morning, Gruman instructed teachers over the school’s intercom to forward a confidential email to students about Gomez Regalado’s death.

Gruman wrote in her email that the death of someone so young is always difficult to cope with, especially when they died. It is important for students, staff and other members of the school community to process what has happened and express their feelings.

“It is important to understand that there are many details we do not know,” Gruman wrote to parents. “Your child will hear many different things, but please encourage them not to make assumptions or spread rumors. The family needs privacy as they grapple with their grief, and the government asks everyone to respect that privacy.”

Many students and staff were visibly shaken by the news on Friday, and some were in tears, including school librarian Meghan Stigge, whose own son is in Gomez Regalado’s class.

“It’s part of being human to have compassion when others are suffering,” said Stigge. “This (the death) was particularly hard because the news came in the middle of school. I think for many students it was probably the first time they had heard the news, so the initial emotional reaction may be more pronounced at first. That made the day a little more intense.”

Additional resources are available to the SM Northwest community

On Friday, school and district officials transformed the library into a place where students can find help and emotional support.

District officials could be seen in the halls offering their support.

“There are again many questions we cannot answer, but we can support each other during this difficult time,” Gruman wrote in her email on Friday. “Ovet was such a warm and wonderful student who touched the hearts of so many in our community.”

School board member Jaime Borgman, who represents the SM Northwest area and whose children also attend the school, said in a text message to the Post: “The SMNW community is mourning the loss of Ovet. He had a very bright future and we are trying to make sense of this tragedy. Give your children a big hug.”

The school and district administration is available to provide advice and other assistance.

Students may visit the main office from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. without an appointment if they would like to speak with a social worker or counselor.

If you would like to speak to someone outside of these hours, the national mental health and crisis hotline 988 is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Grace Rau and Mike Frizzell contributed to this report.