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Linkin Park Singer Chester Bennington Dead In Reported Suicide

VIDEO: Chester Bennington of Linkin Park Dead In Apparent Suicide

 
LOS ANGELES -- Chester Bennington, the 41-year-old lead singer of the alternative-rock group Linkin Park who also fronted the band Stone Temple Pilots, has died, according to the Los Angeles County coroner.

TMZ reported shortly after 11 a.m. that Bennington had died from suicide, tweeting out the news.

According to the report, TMZ learned from law enforcement sources that the singer was found dead at a private residence in Palos Verdes Estates.

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Coroner spokesman Brian Elias said authorities are investigating Bennington's death as an apparent suicide at Palos Verdes Estates, a small coastal city near Los Angeles but no additional details are available.

Band-member Mike Shinoda confirmed the news of Bennington's death on Twitter, explaining that a full statement would come later. "Shocked and heartbroken, but it's true," he wrote. "An official statement will come out as soon as we have one."

"Chester Bennington was an artist of extraordinary talent and charisma, and a human being with a huge heart and a caring soul. Our thoughts and prayers are with his beautiful family, his band-mates and his many friends," Warner Bros. CEO and Chairman Cameron Stang said in a statement.

Linkin Park was on tour and had a show at New York's Citi Field scheduled for next week with Blink 182. The band was set to play San Jose this October.

Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Bennington came to fame after joining established Agoura Hills, California-based band Xero as their second vocalist. The group would change its name to Hybrid Theory before settling on the moniker Linkin Park and releasing their hit debut album Hybrid Theory in 2000.

That album would eventually sell 10 million copies and launched a hugely successful career that included smash singles as "Crawling," "In the End," and "Final Masquerade."

The band initially explored a hip-hop influenced nu metal sound, eventually collaborating with Jay Z to produce the mash-up Collision Course EP in 2004. The group would later introduce elements of electronic dance music to their songs.

Over the course of the band's career, Linkin Park has sold over 70 million albums worldwide and has won two Grammy Awards.

Bennington would also take over as lead singer for the band Stone Temple Pilots in 2013 after the group split with troubled original vocalist Scott Weiland. Bennington would front the group for two years before commitments with Linkin Park led him to amicably part ways with STP.

Weiland, who had a long history of substance abuse problems, died of an accidental drug overdose in late 2015.

Bennington, who sported piercings and tattoos, struggled with drug and alcohol addictions at various times during his life. He was married and is survived by six children.

Bennington's death falls on what would've been his friend Chris Cornell's 53rd birthday. Cornell hanged himself in May.

Bennington was close friends with Cornell, and performed Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at the Soundgarden singer's memorial in late May. "I had the great privilege of being a friend of Chris and being invited to be a member of his family," he said at the ceremony.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255. More information can be found on the organization's website.
 

TM and © Copyright 2017 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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