Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty

Chris Cornell, the lead singer of Soundgarden and leader Audioslave, had died at 52.

His representative, Brian Bumbery, confirmed early Thursday Cornell had passed on Wednesday night. Soundgarden was currently on tour and had a show Wednesday in Detroit, where the singer died of an apparent suicide.

In a statement to the Associated Press, Bumbery called the death “sudden and unexpected” and said his wife and family were shocked by it. The statement said the family would be working closely with the medical examiner to determine a cause of death.

A spokesperson for police said officers responded around midnight to an apparent suicide at MGM Grand Casino. The man, whose name authorities did not immediately confirm, was pronounced dead on the scene.

According to authorities, the victim's wife called a family friend, who forced his way into the room and found the victim unresponsive on the bathroom floor with a band around his neck. Police have not yet confirmed the death was a suicide, but the preliminary determination was an "apparent suicide." An additional statement is expected later Thursday.

Cornell was widely recognized for having spearheaded grunge rock in the '90s and he won two Grammy Awards in 1995 for Soundgarden's "Spoonman" and "Black Hole Sun."

Later in life, he began increasing his focus on philanthropy. In 2012, he formed the the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation to assist children facing homelessness, poverty, abuse and neglect.

Update (2 p.m. EST): The medical examiner has determined Chris Cornell killed himself by hanging. (via Associated Press)