The family of 14-year-old Leo Gurr is demanding answers after the autistic teenager, who had a diagnosed heart condition, collapsed and died shortly after police officers visited his family home in Southampton.
Leo’s mother, Shannon Gurr, believes the encounter caused her son to panic and flee the house, triggering a medical crisis. She has accused officers of taking a “heavy-handed” approach and is seeking further scrutiny of what happened.
However, there is currently no established finding that the police visit caused Leo’s death. His death remains subject to a coroner’s investigation, while an internal police review and an assessment by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found no evidence of criminality or misconduct by the officers involved.
Leo fled the house after officers arrived
The incident happened on Sunday, June 21, 2026, at the family home on Binstead Close in Southampton.
According to Shannon, officers arrived shortly after 11am as part of enquiries relating to an alleged assault at a nearby park several weeks earlier. She says Leo had been mistakenly identified in connection with the incident and was later cleared.
Leo was at home with his two younger brothers when the officers arrived.
Shannon says police knocked on the front door, banged on windows and called her son’s name. She believes the approach frightened Leo, who was autistic and had ADHD, prompting what she described as a fight-or-flight reaction.
The teenager ran out through the back door barefoot.
Shannon had been contacted and returned home shortly afterward. She says she reassured officers that Leo was frightened and would come back once he had calmed down.
She did not know at the time that her son would soon be found critically ill just a short distance from the house.
Leo was found collapsed in an alleyway
At 12.17pm, more than an hour after he had fled, members of the public found Leo collapsed in an alleyway near the family home.
An ambulance was called and paramedics attempted to revive him.
Police said they were contacted at 12.29pm while South Central Ambulance Service crews were treating Leo. He was later pronounced dead. Hampshire Police confirmed that a file was being prepared for the coroner, who would investigate the circumstances and establish the cause of death.
Shannon arrived at the scene after a neighbour alerted her that her son was receiving CPR.
She said she immediately recognised Leo from his white socks because he had left the house without shoes.
“I just ran, and as soon as I saw these two white socks, I just knew because he obviously didn’t have any shoes on,” she recalled.
She then helped sponge him down because of the heat while paramedics continued CPR.
Shannon praised the emergency crews for their efforts, saying they “did an amazing job.”
Family says Leo had a serious heart condition
Leo had been diagnosed with a heart condition earlier in 2026 following an incident in January, when he was hit by a minibus while riding an e-scooter, according to his mother.
Shannon said Leo had an official medical care plan and that the condition required him to make significant changes to his lifestyle, including taking regular medication.
She also said his medical plan warned that emotional stress and adrenaline could trigger potentially serious problems, including cardiac arrest or a heart attack.
The precise medical cause of Leo’s death has not yet been formally established. The coroner is expected to determine what caused the teenager to collapse and die.
Mother questions police approach
Shannon remains convinced that the circumstances surrounding the police visit need closer examination.
She said officers could have contacted the family before arriving at the property and questioned why they approached the house in a manner she believed was particularly frightening for her son.
“They were heavy-handed, banging on the door and window, and shouting Leo’s name. It was known about his heart condition,” she told The Sun.
She also questioned why officers had not appeared to take his medical circumstances into account before visiting the property.
Shannon said she wished she had gone upstairs herself when she arrived home, but believed Leo would eventually return after calming down.
Instead, she was confronted with the devastating discovery that he had collapsed nearby.
Dispute over police bodycam footage
Another major concern raised by Shannon involves the officers’ body-worn cameras.
She says she was shown footage that appeared to show two officers banging on a window and calling Leo’s name while also having a clear view inside the property.
According to Shannon, the cameras were then switched off.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary disputed the implication that the footage demonstrated wrongdoing. The force said the body-worn video showed that officers received no response at the address and had no information indicating that Leo was inside.
Police said the use of body-worn video formed part of the subsequent review.
The force also said the cameras were deactivated in accordance with normal procedure.
Police and IOPC found no misconduct
Hampshire Police referred the matter to the IOPC following Leo’s death.
The IOPC received a mandatory death or serious injury referral on June 22, 2026, concerning the police contact that occurred before Leo died.
According to the watchdog, it decided that no further investigation was required because the information available at the time did not provide evidence that police action or inaction may have caused or contributed to Leo’s death.
Hampshire Police subsequently conducted its own Death or Serious Injury review.
That review found no indication that any officer had committed a criminal offence or behaved in a way that warranted disciplinary proceedings. The IOPC later reviewed the findings and agreed with the conclusions.
The force said no organisational changes were considered necessary, although individual learning points were given to two officers as part of their continuing professional development.
Shannon remains dissatisfied with the findings and has said she intends to pursue her own complaint.
‘Beautiful, loved boy’
Leo’s family has described him as a “beautiful, loved boy” and a “larger-than-life character.”
In a tribute issued through Hampshire Police, his family said Leo was the eldest of three brothers and was known for laughing uncontrollably over even the smallest things.
They also spoke about his love of motorbikes and pushbikes.
“Leo we are all broken without you, life will never be the same,” the family said.
They thanked neighbours who tried to help, as well as South Central Ambulance Service and the air ambulance crew who worked to save Leo in the heat.
The family added: “Thank you for blessing us with 14 beautiful years of you.”
Questions remain as coroner investigates
Leo’s death has left his family searching for answers about the final moments of his life.
For Shannon, the sequence of events—from the arrival of police at the family home, to Leo fleeing barefoot, to his collapse in the nearby alleyway—has raised questions she believes still need to be addressed.
But while his mother believes the police encounter played a role in what happened, that allegation has not been established as fact.
The IOPC and Hampshire Police reviews found no evidence of police criminality or misconduct, while the coroner’s investigation remains the process responsible for determining the medical cause and circumstances of Leo’s death.
For now, Leo’s family continues to mourn a teenager they describe as full of energy, laughter and love—and to seek a complete understanding of what happened on the morning of June 21.
