14-year-old graffiti artist hit and killed by Seattle rail

A young teen was hit by a monorail and killed while spray-painting the side of a building in Seattle, according to reports.

Xavier Gayton, 14, was visiting Washington State from Arizona and had climbed to the roof of a downtown building which was next to the monorail tracks.

He was struck and killed July 30, according to Seattle police and news reports.

“The news was so deeply painful and shocking, it’s not even something I can really describe,” Gaytan’s mother, Allison Gardner, told Fox 10 Phoenix. “He had a passion and a desire to do something. And unfortunately, he really just didn’t think it through.”

Gaytan was born in Washington but moved with his mother to Arizona nine years ago. He was in town visiting family and friends for the summer.

Gardner described him as a fun, creative and talented artist. A GoFundMe she created collected nearly $9,000 as of Saturday.

“Even though he was warned many times of the dangers and illegality of doing graffiti on the street, like most teenagers, I don’t think he fully grasped the reality or the danger of that,” Gardner said.

The Seattle Fire Department attempted life-saving measures but could not save Gaytan, according to police. Video footage obtained by officers showed the teen doing the graffiti.

“Safety is our number one priority; we take this event very seriously and are fully cooperating with the authorities in their investigation of this incident,” the Seattle Center Monorail told the Seattle Times in a statement on Monday.