Cage the Elephant singer Matt Shultz charged after NYC police say they found guns in hotel room

Elise Brisco, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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Matt Shultz, the lead singer for rock band Cage the Elephant, was arrested Thursday on weapons charges after police say they found firearms in his possession at a New York City hotel.

Police responded to a 911 call Thursday that reported an individual at Manhattan's Bowery Hotel was in possession of a weapon. Authorities say they obtained a search warrant and found two loaded weapons in one of the rooms and arrested the 39-year-old musician for possessing "a loaded firearm with intent to use it unlawfully against another."

According to the complaint provided by the district attorney's office, a witness allegedly saw Shultz remove a weapon from his pants' pocket while inside the hotel's lobby bathroom.

Police confiscated both a loaded .45 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol in addition to a .45 caliber Sig Sauer pistol and charged the musician with several counts of weapon possession.

The court set a $10,000 cash bail during his arraignment Friday. The next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 11.

USA TODAY reached out to Shultz's lawyer and Cage the Elephant's representatives for more information.

Shultz along with his brother, Brad Shultz, and several other bandmates formed the Kentucky alt-rock group in 2006. They released their debut album, "Cage the Elephant" in 2008 and several more after with their latest release being 2019's "Social Cues."

Matt Shultz, lead singer of Cage the Elephant, was arrested in New York City Thursday on weapons charges.
Matt Shultz, lead singer of Cage the Elephant, was arrested in New York City Thursday on weapons charges.

They scored two Grammy awards for best rock album for their 2015 release "Tell Me I'm Pretty" and their 2019 release "Social Cues," which included singles "Ready to Let Go" and "Night Running," which featured Beck.

"Brad had the song sent to Beck and it was insane – maybe within 24 to 48 hours he’d already sent back two verses and said he had four other options," Shultz told NME in 2019 about making the song with the musician. "We were like, ‘Oh wow, this is pretty nice. You’re an amazing talent.’ Of course he is!"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matt Shultz arrested: Cage the Elephant singer charged for weapons