Rapper King Vaughan was killed as early as Friday after a shooting outside Atlanta, Georgia, officials said.
The Atlanta Police Department said it does not believe the rapper, whose legal name is Devon Dakwan Bennett, was shot by police, but in a previous shooting involving police.
“At this time, our investigators believe Mr. Bennett was shot during an initial shootout between a group of two men before police responded and tried to stop the shooting,” officials said in a statement.
According to police, two groups of males started arguing outside the Monaco Hookah Lounge at 3.30am. Two-duty police officers doing “extra work” in Monaco were outside the lounge. “The officers were in uniform and marked [Atlanta police department] An active blue light vehicle was parked nearby for visibility, ”officials said.
Police said the dispute has escalated into a “quick shootout between the two groups”.
One of the two on-duty officers, as well as the on-duty officer, who worked near the lounge, confronted the accused shooters. “Shots were fired during the encounter,” police said.
A total of three people, including Bennett, are believed to have been killed.
Bennett, 26, is from Chicago and Watershed has been on track for years. According to Pitchfork, their first mixtape, Grandson, Volume 1, was released in September 2019. In March, Bennett released their second mix, Levon James, which reached number 81 on Rolling Stone’s Top 200 albums chart, the magazine reports. Bennett has collected about 575 M streams, the magazine said.
Actors, including Chance the Rapper, mourned Bennett’s death.
“Wow. This year has been very difficult. Rip Vaughan God bless him and his family I can’t trust him, ”he said Tweeted Friday afternoon.
The three suspects who took part in the incident sustained non-fatal injuries and were taken to hospital by paramedics. The other two suspects went to the hospital in private vehicles. Bennett was taken to the hospital in a private vehicle, officials said. Two suspects were detained at the scene.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been asked to investigate the officers’ involvement in the incident, and Atlanta Police are also investigating the death.
Police said the investigation will determine which individuals were struck by the firing from the suspects and whether any officers were struck by the shooting.
Attempts to reach Bennett’s representatives were not immediately successful.
According to the report, Ghazi Shami, the founder of Bennett’s record label, wrote on Instagram: “My heart is heavy. Another young rising star went very quickly. I pray for Lil brother for your family. “
He added: “We have to find a better way. There is so much senseless violence. This has to stop. God help us. #RipKingVon. ”
