Journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, who unleashed the concept of “gonzo journalism” in books like “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” fatally shot himself in the head Sunday at his home near Aspen, Colorado, police and his family said.
“On February 20, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson took his life with a gunshot to the head at his fortified compound in Woody Creek, Colorado,” said a statement issued by Thompson’s son, Juan Thompson, to the Aspen Daily News.
A dispatcher for the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Department confirmed Thompson’s death.
Neither the family statement nor Pitkin County sheriff’s officials said whether Thompson left a note, The Associated Press reported.
His account of a drug-fueled trip to cover a district attorneys’ anti-drug conference as a writer for Rolling Stone magazine was the seed of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” perhaps his best-known work.
Source: cnn.com
