Former Disney Star Lee Thompson Young Commits Suicide at 29

Young's body was discovered in his Los Angeles home after he didn't show up for work on the TNT crime drama "Rizzoli & Isles"

By Colin Bertram

|  Monday, Aug 19, 2013  |  Updated 12:26 PM PDT

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Actor Lee Thompson Young at the Los Angeles premiere of "Sleep Dealer" on April 15, 2009 in Hollywood, California. The actor died Monday Aug. 19, 2013.

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Former Disney Channel star Lee Thompson Young has died at the age of 29, his publicist told NBC News. His death was an apparent suicide by gunshot, the Los Angeles Polic Department confirms.

Young's body was discovered in his Los Angeles home Monday. A source close to Young confirmed to NBC News that when Young didn't arrive for work on the TNT crime drama "Rizzoli & Isles," police were sent to Young's home where his body was discovered shortly after 8 a.m. PT.

"It is with great sadness that I announce that Lee Thompson Young tragically took his own life this morning," Young's manager Jonathan Baruch said in a statement. "Lee was more than just a brilliant young actor, he was a wonderful and gentle soul who will be truly missed. We ask that you please respect the privacy of his family and friends as this very difficult time."

Young featured in the lead role of the Disney series for children, "The Famous Jett Jackson," which aired from 1998 to 2001. More recently he had a recurring role on the cop series "Rizzoli & Isles" as Detective Barry Frost, the partner of Jane Rizzoli, played by actress Angie Harmon. Young began working on the series in 2010.

"We are all without the words to truly express our collective grief and profound sadness at the loss of such a sweet, bright light," Rizzoli" creator, writer and executive producer Jane Tamaro tweetedMonday. "We are broken-hearted. #RIPLeeThompsonYoung"

Born in Columbia, South Carolina, Young also appeared in the film "Friday Night Lights" (2006), "Akeelah and the Bee" (2006) and the 2004 made for television movie "Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story."

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