Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, 50, dies in Colombia hotel; police investigating cause of death
- The band announced late on Friday that Hawkins, 50, had died, but did not give a cause of death
- Colombian investigators said traces of marijuana, opioids, antidepressants and other drugs were found in Hawkins’ system
The death of Taylor Hawkins, the drummer of American rock band Foo Fighters, is being investigated by Colombian authorities after he died at a hotel in Bogota, a source at the attorney general’s office said on Saturday.
The band announced late on Friday that Hawkins, 50, had died, but did not give a cause of death.
“We have begun an investigation to establish the cause of death of the musician, but for now we don’t have any available information to share. As the investigation advances we will,” a source at the attorney general’s office, who was not authorised to speak to the press, told Reuters.
An ambulance was sent to the hotel after an emergency call reported a man experiencing chest pains, Bogota’s health department said in a statement. Hawkins did not respond to CPR and was declared dead, it added.
Colombian investigators said traces of marijuana, opioids, antidepressants and other drugs were found in Hawkins’ system.
“The urine toxicology tests performed on Taylor Hawkins’ body preliminarily found 10 types of substances,” including THC – which is found in marijuana – tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines and opioids, investigators said in a statement, without specifying whether the drugs caused the musician’s death.
The group had been set to perform at the Estereo Picnic festival near the Colombian capital the same night. Festival organisers said the group was cancelling the rest of its South American tour.
“The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins,” the band said in a tweet. “His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever.”