Tom Petty dies at 66 - UPDATED

[Photo by: Sam Jones]

Legendary musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tom Petty has died at 66 from cardiac arrest, as confirmed by a statement from the musician's management on behalf of his family, according to Reuters.

Read more: Tom Petty's cause of death revealed

Petty's manager said the musician died peacefully, surrounded by his family, bandmates and friends, on Monday, Oct. 2, at 11:40 p.m. EDT, as reported by Billboard. Read the full statement, via Twitter, below.

Full statement: pic.twitter.com/FGCVI5yIaa

— Tom Petty (@tompetty) October 3, 2017

The confirmation follows a period of uncertainty regarding Petty's condition: CBS News prematurely reported the musician's death on Monday afternoon, as covered by The New York Times. The network ascribed the news to an apparently erroneous confirmation from the Los Angeles Police Department, which was later retracted. Details on the initial confusion are included below.

Petty, one of the best-selling artists of all time, first came to renown in the 1970s as the singer-guitarist of his eponymous rock group, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers. He was also a member of Mudcrutch, his early band who reunited in 2007, and '80s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne.

Dylan, Petty's friend as well as his Wilburys bandmate, referred to reports of the musician's death as “shocking, crushing news” in a statement to Rolling Stone on Monday. “I thought the world of Tom,” he said. “He was a great performer, full of the light, a friend, and I'll never forget him.”

With the Heartbreakers, Petty recorded 13 albums over a prolific 40-year career, scoring multiple hits including “Breakdown,” “American Girl,” “Refugee,” “The Waiting” and “Mary Jane's Last Dance”. Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2002.

Petty also recorded three celebrated solo albums apart from the Heartbreakers, Full Moon Fever (1989), Wildflowers (1994) and Highway Companion (2006), netting such hits as “I Won't Back Down,” “Runnin' Down A Dream,” “Free Fallin',” “You Don't Know How It Feels” and “It's Good To Be King.”

Petty was born Oct. 20, 1950, in Gainesville, Florida, and released his first album with the Heartbreakers in 1976. Prior to his unexpected death, the musician and his band had just completed a U.S. tour, which ended with a show last week, on Monday, Sept. 25, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

UPDATE: Monday, Oct. 2, at 5:30 p.m. EDT

While CBS News originally reported the death of Tom Petty today, per a source at the LAPD, TMZ claims the musician is still “clinging to life,” with the police department also offering clarification on the matter. CBS has now backtracked its original report of Petty's death, citing incorrect information, with other news outlets following suit. Read more below.

ORIGINAL POST: Monday, Oct. 2, at 4:30 p.m. EDT

Musician Tom Petty has reportedly died at the age of 66, according to CBS News. TMZ reveals that Petty was rushed to the hospital on Sunday, Oct. 1, after he was discovered unconscious at his home in Malibu, California.

As covered by Variety, police responded to Petty's home at 10:50 p.m. PDT on Sunday evening, and he was transferred to UCLA-Santa Monica Medical Center. There, the musician was reportedly found to have “no brain activity and a decision was made to pull life support,” as stated in TMZ's updated report.

However, The Hollywood Reporter claims the LAPD have not verified Petty's death nor “confirmed the news to anyone at this time.” TMZ reports that the musician is “not expected to live throughout the day, but he's still clinging to life. A report that the LAPD confirmed the singer's death is inaccurate.”

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