Thornwood High School Security Guard Dies Separating Girls Fighting Over Designer Jeans

A Thornwood High School security guard died this week when he tried to break up a fight between two girls and was thrown into a locker.

Police responded to the suburban Chicago school on Thursday and found guard Richard Cowser unconscious in the hallway. Witnesses said he and another security guard were trying to break up a fight between two girls.

During the scuffle Cowser was thrown — or fell — into a locker and began to have trouble breathing. Paramedics were called, but sometime before they arrived Cowser lost consciousness.

Cowser, a former Thornwood High School student himself, was declared dead shortly after being taken to a nearby hospital.

Witnesses say the two girls were fighting over a pair of designer jeans. It wasn’t clear if one of the combatants pushed Cowser or if he simply lost his footing.

Student Tyshon Boyd, who took a cell phone video of the incident, said Cowser turned purple when he hit the ground.

“The security guards run over there, trying to break the fight up. He jumped in front of the girls and he just slowly passed out. He leaned over into the locker and passed out,” Boyd said.

Cowser’s family say the security guard was a body builder, and students at Thornwood High School knew him as “Hulk.”

An autopsy was planned for Friday to determine what caused the 54-year-old Cowser to die.

On Thursday the school released a statement offering condolences to Cowser’s family. Counselors were available for Thornwood High School students, and police were interviewing witnesses to piece together what happened during the fight. They are also reviewing security cameras that may have footage of the incident.