Chicago Public Schools staffer dies after being found unresponsive in Bridgeport school bathroom

A member of the CPS community died after he was found unresponsive Monday morning at a Bridgeport school on the South Side.

Around 11:15 a.m., someone found the 49-year-old man unresponsive inside a bathroom at Minnie Minoso Academy at 3527 S. Wallace St., Chicago police said.

Paramedics responded to calls of “some kind of medical condition,” and the man was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Merritt said.

His name was not released immediately, pending notification of his next of kin, according to a spokesperson for the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy is scheduled.

The academy was placed on soft lockdown as a precautionary measure so that students could not see the medical crisis taking place, Carrie Cole, principal of the academy, wrote in a letter to the school community Monday.

“Our thoughts are with their family during this difficult time,” wrote Cole. “We are saddened by this tragic loss and will do everything we can to help our community heal.”

Further details couldn’t be shared for privacy reasons, Cole added.

Classes were in session Tuesday, and counseling was made available.

“I know that this loss may raise many emotions and questions for our school community, especially our students. We will be partnering closely with the CPS Crisis Management Unit to provide grief counseling and support to students and staff members,” Cole wrote. “Our own clinicians will also be available for students who need ongoing services.”

Detectives were conducting a death investigation.

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