Rapper Takeoff Killed in Houston Shooting, Media Reports

Rapper Takeoff Killed in Houston Shooting, Media Reports
(L-R) Offset, Quavo, and Takeoff of Migos arrive at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala (Met Gala) in the Manhattan borough of New York on May 7, 2018. Carlo Allegri/Reuters
Reuters
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ATLANTA—Takeoff, a member of the rap group Migos, was fatally shot at a party held at a Houston bowling alley early on Tuesday, according to media reports that cited a representative of the artist and law enforcement sources.

Two other people were wounded, but Houston police were holding back the names of the victims until the next of kin are notified and verified by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, according to a tweet by the department.

But a representative of the rapper told the Associated Press that Takeoff, 28, whose real name is Kirshnik Khari Ball, was killed. TMZ cited law enforcement sources and multiple witnesses in reporting Takeoff’s death.

A second member of Migos—Quavo, 31, whose real name is Quavious Keyate Marshall—was at the party but not hurt, Rolling Stone reported.

A third member, Takeoff’s cousin Offset, whose real name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus, was not there.

The influential hip hop trio from the Atlanta area is known for its singles “Bad and Boujee” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, “MotorSport” and “Walk It Talk It.”

Takeoff’s booking agency, Jay Siegan Presents of San Francisco, was not immediately available for comment.

Police have not offered a motive for the shooting, but various media reports said the gunplay had been spurred by a dispute over a game of dice.

Officers responded to a call at the bowling alley at 2:30 a.m. and found one man dead when they arrived, the department said, describing him only as a Black man in his 20s. No arrests have been reported.

Grief over the death of Takeoff, an Atlanta native, flooded the internet in the hours after the first reports emerged.

By Rich McKay