A Cal State Long Beach professor died Tuesday afternoon after going into cardiac arrest at the Nugget Pub and Grill, shutting down the on-campus bar and restaurant for the rest of the day.

Long Beach Fire Department responded to the incident shortly after 2:30 p.m.

“Witnesses stated that individual looked like he possibly choked,” LBFD spokesman Jake Heflin said, but when paramedics arrived, they found the man in cardiac arrest.

Bystanders had been performing CPR on him, Heflin said, and paramedics then continued CPR and advanced life-saving measures.

The man did not respond and was pronounced dead at the scene, Heflin said.

A Cal State Long Beach spokesman identified the man as Kent Merryfield, a math professor.

Breaking News Editor Jeremiah Dobruck contributed to this report.

Editor’s note: This story was updated Wednesday morning with the man’s identity.

Valerie Osier is the Social Media & Newsletter Manager for the Long Beach Post. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @ValerieOsier