Prince Reportedly Died From an Opioid Overdose

The AP is reporting that Prince‘s April 21 passing was the result of an opioid overdose. Citing information from a source billed as a “law-enforcement official” with “close” ties to the investigation behind Prince’s death, the AP writes:

The findings confirm suspicions that opioids played a role in the musician’s death. After he died, authorities began reviewing whether an overdose was to blame and whether he had been prescribed drugs in the preceding weeks.

Prince’s death came less than a week after his plane made an emergency stop in Moline, Illinois, for medical treatment as he was returning from an Atlanta concert. The Associated Press and other media reported, based on anonymous sources, that Prince was found unconscious on the plane, and first responders gave him a shot of Narcan, an antidote used in suspected opioid overdoses.

It was had been widely alleged and reported that Prince had been regularly using the opioid-based pain med Percocet, a combination of the powerful narcotic oxycodone and acetaminophen. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Attorney’s Office have been working closely with local officials in Minnesota to investigate the precise causes behind Prince’s death and possible access to narcotic-based pain medication. We will keep you updated as more official information becomes available.