The principal of an Oregon school was found dead in the garage of his home from an apparent suicide just one day after he was placed on administration leave following allegations he had sexual contact with a student.
Police said Michael Fisher was found dead in his Springfield home Thursday afternoon. The 55-year-old director of the Academy of Arts and Academics was being investigated for alleged sexual misconduct.
Authorities were called to the Springfield school Wednesday morning after a former student contacted school officials to report that she had allegedly been victimized by Fisher on school property over a period of years, KEZI reports.
The school immediately called police and told Fisher about the allegations.
Michael Fisher, the principal of the Academy of the Arts and Academics in Springfield, Oregon, committed suicide on Thursday following allegations he had sexual contact with a student
According to Lt. Scott McKee with the Springfield Police Department, Fisher left the school and went to a pawnshop nearby to purchase a gun. The clerk at the pawnshop was a former student and told a friend who then contacted the school.
Academy of Arts and Academics was then placed on lockdown.
Police said Fisher left the pawnshop and went to another store to buy a .38 caliber revolver. Officers went to Fisher’s home and asked him why he had bought the gun and he reportedly said he needed it for self-defense because he was under investigation for misconduct.
Police asked Fisher to voluntarily give up the weapon, which he did. However, around 4pm on Thursday Fisher’s wife called police to the home after he was found dead.
Investigators said the director had committed suicide by hanging himself in the garage, according to KEZI.
Police said Fisher’s death came less than 24 hours after the school had placed him on administration leave during the investigation.
According to KCBY, the school is on a scheduled break but opened its doors for a few hours on Friday so students, staff and parents could come together and grieve with the assistance of professional grief counselors.
Fisher was placed on administration leave after a female student contacted school officials to report that she had been victimized by Fisher on school property over a period of several years
‘An event like this only reaffirms how important it is to support each other and lean in to our community. We are our strongest support system, and together we have the tools we need to get through this,’ the school said in a Facebook post.
‘At this time, we only know as much as you, and for now we must be okay with not having all the answers. To that end, we encourage you to be thoughtful about how you process this news, as so many details are still not confirmed or publicly released. We know that no one desires to spread hurtful rumors and if the information indeed proves correct we want to be respectful of how that impacts individuals in our A3 community.’
McKee told KEZI he believes there are more victims ‘given Mr. Fisher’s response to the revelation that there was an investigation going on focused upon him’. He said he fears those potential victims won’t come forward because of Fisher’s suicide.
Fisher had been with the Springfield School District since 1999 and helped create the Academy of Arts and Academics in 2006. He served as principal ever since the school opened.