Black teen found hanged in Texas school parking lot

Authorities believe the young man committed suicide, while advocates are calling for further investigation.

According to authorities in Harris County, Texas, the body of an African American teenager was found hanging in the parking lot of an elementary school on Tuesday.

Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies posted on Facebook that they were called to the parking area of a school in the 6600 block of Rosebrook, where a teenaged black male was found deceased.

“Based on security video, witnesses and other evidence, preliminary indications are the male hanged himself,” a Twitter post read. There are currently no signs of foul play and the young man’s name has not been released. The cause of death is pending an autopsy.

On Twitter, users are demanding that authorities release the security footage.

RELATED: Community demands answers after a second man is found hanging in Southern California

The death of the teenager is the second in the Houston-area. A Hispanic man was found hanged on Monday in what is also being considered a suicide.

Both deaths follow two hangings in southern California, where federal authorities are investigating the death of Robert Fuller in Palmdale and Malcolm Harsch in Victorville.

“The FBI, U.S. Attorney’s office for the Central District of California and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division are actively reviewing the investigations into the hanging deaths of two African American men in the cities of Palmdale and Victorville to determine whether there are violations of federal law,” the bureau said in a statement.

Social media users continue to discount how Fuller and Harsch died.

RELATED: Los Angeles authorities to investigate hanging of Black man after outcry over suicide ruling

“Never in my life have I heard of a man hanging HIMSELF on a tree,” one viral tweet read. “Let alone MULTIPLE BLACK MEN HANGING THEMSELVES ON TREES IN THE SAME WEEK. DURING A CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. THIS IS NOT COINCIDENCE.”

The hanging deaths have occurred during global unrest over race in the U.S. following weeks of protests against police brutality and systemic racism. The demonstrations were sparked by the death of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis police custody on May 25.

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