Rising rapper Lil Peep died of a suspected overdose of Xanax, Tucson Police Department Sgt. Pete Dugan told Us Weekly on Thursday, November 16.
According to Dugan, Lil Peep’s manager found him unresponsive on his tour bus around 8:30 to 8:45 p.m. on Wednesday, November 15, ahead of a scheduled concert in Tucson, Arizona. Members of the local police and fire departments responded to the scene and attempted to revive Lil Peep (real name Gustav Åhr) but were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
The sergeant added that because “it’s not normal” for a 21-year-old to die, the Aggravated Assault Unit continued the investigation and spoke to people in his entourage and at the scene, and also looked at the tour bus. “Based on what they heard and saw, they were able to say that it appears that this was a possible drug overdose, most likely from Xanax,” Dugan said. “There was drug paraphernalia and narcotics on the bus as well.”
The Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and said in a statement that the suspected cause of death is a drug overdose. The final determination will be available in a toxicology report that is expected to be released in six to eight weeks.
First Access Entertainment CEO Sarah Sennett confirmed the Long Island, New York, native’s death in a statement on Thursday morning. “I am shocked and heartbroken. I do not believe Peep wanted to die, this is so tragic. He had huge ambition and his career was flourishing,” she said, via The New York Times. “I have spoken to his mother and she asked me to convey that she is very, very proud of him and everything he was able to achieve in his short life.”
The “Benz Truck” rapper’s ex-girlfriend Bella Thorne paid tribute to him in a series of emotional Instagram videos. “I just wanted to say anybody out there who is a Lil Peep fan, you guys know how talented he was, you guys know how great he was,” she said. “Well, he was even more f–king great as a person.”
