Missouri Auditor Tom Schweich, a leading Republican candidate for governor of the state, died Thursday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Schweich’s office confirmed the 54-year-old auditor’s death but did not state the cause.
“It is with great sadness that I confirm the passing of Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich today,” spokesman Spence Jackson said in a statement, as quoted by the Post-Dispatch. “Please keep in mind his wife Kathy and two children.”
A police source told the newspaper that Schweich died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Schweich had arranged an interview with Post-Dispatch and Associated Press reporters hours before his death but was taken to an area hospital before that interview was scheduled to take place, according to the report. After he was taken to the hospital, Schweich’s office described the situation to the Post-Dispatch as a “medical situation.”
