Death of Linkin Park frontman saddens Chinese fans

Lead vocalist of rock band Linkin Park Chester Bennington answers a question after the band was inducted into Guitar Center's RockWalk in Los Angeles, California June 18, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington, whose screeching vocals helped the rock-rap band become one of the most commercially successful acts in the 2000s, was found dead in his home near Los Angeles on Thursday, the Los Angeles County coroner said. He was 41.

Coroner spokesman Brian Elias said authorities are investigating Bennington's death as an apparent suicide at Palos Verdes Estates, but no additional details are available.

Band co-founder and producer Mike Shinoda said on Twitter he was "shocked and saddened."

"Chester Bennington was an artist of extraordinary talent and charisma, and a human being with a huge heart and a caring soul. Our thoughts and prayers are with his beautiful family, his band-mates and his many friends," Warner Bros. Records CEO and Chairman Cameron Stang said in a statement.

"We are all caught off our guard at our best times. I hope you will always be happy," wrote Weibo user FightingPHF.

"You have been with me throughout the decade when I was helpless and lost," wrote Weibo user MissWong.

"I still find it hard to believe that the voice that gave me the will to fight and the voice that led me from desperation to hope has chosen to bid goodbye to this world on his own. I hope you get what you wish for in the other world. Goodbye," wrote user Xinshang_Xinyu.

Linkin Park has met and performed for fans in China several times in the past. The largest tour in scale, and also the last one performed in China, was their stadium-level international rock tour in July, 2015, in which they played in cities including Nanjing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Beijing.