Authorities report a Monticello Middle School teacher under investigation died after shooting himself at his Longview home Thursday afternoon when police came to interview him about the allegations.
Eric Zander was under investigation for more than three weeks over reports of his inappropriate conduct with a former student, Longview police announced Thursday evening.
The police department has not explained the age of the student or when the allegations occurred.
Zander came under investigation after police received information on March 10 about the inappropriate conduct, and the Longview School District immediately placed Zander on administrative leave, police report.
Public records show Zander was 35 and lived in the 2400 block of Redwood Avenue in West Longview.
When detectives came to Zander's home on that block, north of Longview Church of Christ, to talk to him about the allegations, they heard what they believed to be a single gunshot from inside the home, according to the department notice.
The Lower Columbia SWAT team was dispatched to the scene, and two SWAT vehicles were in the neighborhood Thursday afternoon.
Using a drone, SWAT officers discovered the body, later identified by the Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office as Zander, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot, the report states.
Police say he was the only person inside the home.
A Medix ambulance crossed the police caution tape at about 3:15 p.m. and left at about 3:30 p.m., with a SWAT vehicle behind it.
