How Did Prince Die? Was Reportedly Treated for Drug Overdose Before Death
Understanding the circumstances behind his passing.
Prince died at the age of 57 at his Paisley Park home in Carver County, Minnesota early on Thursday morning. As people mourn his death, more details have emerged about the circumstances of Prince’s passing.
Sheriff’s deputies and medics were sent to Paisley Park sometime around 9:43 a.m. local time, USA Today reports. They found Prince unresponsive in an elevator and attempted to revive him. The attempts failed, and Prince was officially pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m.
TMZ received audio from an emergency dispatch call about a male down, not breathing,” and initial early reports from Hollywood Life claimed an unidentified person had died at Prince’s home.
The Carver County Sheriff’s Office told TMZ it was investigating the death, but it’s too early to say if there was any foul play involved. Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Kamerud told the Associated Press it “is neither suspected nor not suspected.” Prince’s body was delivered to a medical examiners office this afternoon, and an autopsy will be performed on Friday.
A rainbow over Paisley Park as mourners gather at the compound where he died.
Prince’s death was a culmination of health scares and close encounters. In early April, he had the flu and was forced to cancel several shows starting on April 7. On his way back from a concert at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta on April 15, his private jet was forced to make an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois. He was taken to the hospital and released three hours later. He told the audience in Atlanta to wait a few days before you waste any prayers, and later tweeted out “I am #transformed.”
According to TMZ, Prince was being treated for a drug overdose at the hospital in Illinois and received a “save shot” to reverse the effects of opiates.
While there is no confirmed direct link between the hospitalization and his death, Minnesota authorities are asking for the hospital records from the Moline hospital.
One theory from the Santa Monica Observer is that Prince was suffering from complications from HIV/AIDS that he contracted in the 1990s. The paper cites unnamed sources that state he stopped taking medication to help HIV/AIDS symptoms because of he became a Jehovah’s Witness. The religion urges followers to trust in god rather than medicine.
Details about the exact circumstances of Prince’s death will become more clear once the autopsy is conducted.
