A few days ago, we got the devastating news that David Berman, the beloved singer-songwriter and poet behind the bands Silver Jews and Purple Mountains, had died at 52. No cause of death was given at the time, but it has now officially been ruled a suicide.

An anonymous law enforcement official tells The New York Times that Berman was found in an apartment in Park Slope, Brooklyn on Wednesday and pronounced dead at the scene. A spokeswoman for the city’s medical examiner confirmed his death as suicide by hanging.

In both interviews with the press and his lyrics, Berman was open about his struggles with treatment resistant depression and addiction, including a previous suicide attempt by overdose in 2003. It goes without saying, but this is absolutely tragic news.

If you or someone you know needs help, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1–800–273–8255 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org to chat with someone online.