First reports in from AP:

ASPEN, Colo. - Hunter S. Thompson, the acerbic counter-culture author of books such as “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” fatally shot himself Sunday night at his Aspen-area home, his son said. He was 67.

The King of Gonzo’s last column for ESPN.com was published Feb. 15:

Shotgun Golf with Bill Murray.

Denver Post story is here. Washington Post obit is here with more detail:

Sheriff Bob Braudis said in a brief telephone interview that Thompson was alone in his kitchen when he shot himself with a handgun. His wife was at a gym at the time, Braudis said.

Blogger memorials:

Bill Hennessy remembers first reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as a young sailor and writes: “Thompson would hate my politics as I hated his. But I respect the daylights out of his writing, his brilliant cleverness, and the length of his career.”

Jeff G.: “Thompson was a brilliant writer and one of the counterculture’s most recognizable figures. And with his death, America has lost a fascinating bit of its living history.”

Commenter Craig C. at Protein Wisdom: “He was definitely a brilliant writer, and it’s not often someone singlehandedly changes his profession in some way, but the rest of his life…whew. He was definitely a moonbat politically, and as for his psychological problems, well, I’m not all that surprised by this development, but reading “Fear and Loathing On the Campaign Trail” in Rolling Stone is seared, seared into my memory.”

Also: Ramblings’ Journal, Resurrection Song, The American Mind…

***
Tim Worstall notices a discrepancy:

NY Times headline: “Hunter S. Thompson, 65, Author, Commits Suicide”
Wash Post headline: “Hunter S. Thompson Dies at 67”

By coincidence, Gary Cruse posted a Thompson-themed blogger roundup last week, with some of his best-known quips and quotes.

Rob Port of Say Anything shares a story about a run-in his dad, an Alaska state trooper and narcotics officer, had with Thompson in the 1970s.

Joe Gandelman has a different take.

And Gerard van der Leun, who knew Thompson, is not impressed.

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