A special education teacher was found dead inside a Bronx school bathroom from what police said they suspect was a drug overdose.
Authorities said 36-year-old Matthew Azimi was was found unconscious inside a bathroom of PS-X811 on Longfellow Avenue in Crotona Park East on Thursday at about 6 p.m Thursday -- after school hours. Paramedics were called to the scene and pronounced him dead.
No students were in the school when his body was found, according to the city Education Department.
Though authorities say a drug overdose is suspected in Azimi's death, a medical examiner will determine his exact cause of death.
City schools chancellor Carmen Farina told the Daily News, which first reported the death, that grief counselors will be provided to help support students and staff.
"This is deeply saddening and my heart goes out to the teacher's family and the school community," Farina told the Daily News on Thursday.
Colleagues, meanwhile, called Azimi a revered teacher at the school that serves special education students from grades 6 through 12.
Aura Perez, one parent, said the death has her wondering if drugs were ever present around her daughter.
Local
"Those are special education students," she said. "So what do you think I'll think about my daughter who does drugs and I don't even know?"
