Teen-Ager Collapses During Gym Class, Dies : Tragedy: The Irvine student, who had been playing basketball, was in what appeared to be full cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived.

A University High School student collapsed of an apparent heart attack as he played basketball in gym class Wednesday and died, officials said.

Thomas Sunoo, a 16-year-old junior, suddenly fell at 11:50 a.m. and stopped breathing, Police Lt. Sam Allevato said.

The physical education teacher, Steve Scoggin, immediately tried to revive Sunoo, students said. A second teacher arrived moments later and attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation. When paramedics arrived, they found Sunoo in what appeared to be full cardiac arrest, police said.

Paramedics continued to try to revive him. He was taken to Irvine Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

“He just collapsed,” said Thien Tran, another student who was also playing basketball when Sunoo lost consciousness. “We were all very quiet.”

Meanwhile, school administrators and students were apparently unsure of his condition. About 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, school officials told the school via the public address system that Sunoo had been taken to Irvine Medical Center but was OK, said Amir Khalilpour, a senior at the school.

Classmate Irene Voro, 15, who had been playing basketball in the gym when Sunoo collapsed, said that at first, some students thought he was resting. But minutes later they realized he was unconscious and called the gym teacher.

“All of a sudden, everyone stopped playing,” she said.

Irvine police said there did not appear to be any unusual physical altercation during the basketball game.

Phong Tran, a classmate and good friend, described Sunoo as “a really nice guy. He really cared about people.”

Tran, 18 said they became friends last year when Sunoo moved to Orange County from Los Angeles.

Sunoo liked to go to video arcades, Tran said. He was also a talented artist, whose pencil drawings appeared in the Korea Times newspaper.

“I think he wanted to be an artist,” Tran said.

After school, a meeting was held at which some faculty members were told of Sunoo’s death, said varsity basketball coach Mike Dinneen.

An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of death, Allevato said.

School board member Margie Wakeham said: “It’s tragic. I think it’s the worst thing that could happen to a staff and a family. The University staff is devastated, and I can imagine what grief the family must be experiencing. I don’t think words can express it.”

Tom Burnham, also a member of the Irvine Unified School board, said: “I think the reaction is one of tremendous sadness. When any type of situation like this occurs, you really don’t understand why.” Schoolmate Ryan Cheung, 17, said: “I think a lot of University High School students will send their hearts out to the family and relatives.”

Times correspondent Shelby Grad contributed to this report.