Houston Police Department Chief Troy Finner said at a news conference Tuesday that Kirshnik Khari Ball, also known as Takeoff, was shot and killed early Tuesday in Houston, Texas. Takeoff was part of the platinum-selling rap group Migos. Takeoff was 28.
As reported, police received a call of a shooting in progress around 2:34 a.m. local time. Officers arrived at the 810 Billiards & Bowling Houston where there was a private party. Takeoff was found dead at the scene. Two guns are said to have been fired, with 10 shots being released, in total. Two other people – a 23-year-old man and 24-year-old woman – were also injured in the shooting and took themselves to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, said Sgt. Michael Arrington with police department’s homicide division.
Some background of the events was supplied. Employees told police an argument took place after the party ended when a large group of people gathered at the front door area outside of the building. The shooting followed. According to Chief Finner, least 40 people were at the scene at the time of the shooting.
“A lot of people that were there fled the scene and did not stick around to give a statement,” Arrington said.
“I got many calls from Houston and outside of Houston, and everyone spoke of what a great young man he is, how peaceful he is, what a great artist (he is),” Finner said, later adding that Takeoff was very well respected and nonviolent.
Kirshnik Khari Ball, aka Takeoff, was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He began performing with his uncle and fellow rapper Quavo, along with Offset, as Migos in 2008. The trio found fame with their 2013 single, “Versace.” As reported, the trio’s success increased in 2016 with the release of their hit “Bad and Boujee,” which featured fellow recording artist Lil Uzi Vert. The single quickly became an internet sensation, giving birth to a multitude of memes that played off the lyrics “rain drop, drop top.”
According to the above-cited post, the song got an even bigger boost after “Atlanta” creator and star Donald Glover name-dropped the single during an acceptance speech at the 2017 Golden Globe Awards. Glover said: “I really wanna thank the Migos, not for being in the show, but for making ‘Bad and Boujee,’ Like that’s the best song ever.” Takeoff and Quavo recently formed the duo “Unc & Phew” and released their debut album, “Only Built for Infinity Links,” on October 7.
The Atlanta Falcons released a statement on Twitter regarding Takeoff’s death. “Takeoff’s legacy lives on in Atlanta and across the world,” the Falcons team tweeted.
Finner opined that Takeoff was not involved in the shooting. “I would not expect him to be involved … We have no reason to believe that he was involved in anything criminal at the time.”
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said “It doesn’t matter how famous you are. You may not be famous at all. Anybody who loses his or her life is a life lost, and there are family members and friends who are grieving as a result.”
The news of Takeoff’s death was a blow to the hip-hop community, still recovering from the fatal shooting of rapper PnB Rock in September. Stars took to social media Tuesday to pay tribute and express their condolences over the death of Takeoff.
Gucci Mane, who recently collaborated with Takeoff on the track “Us vs. Them,” wrote on Instagram, “This broke my heart” upon learning the news.
“This is horrible. From the tragedy of the death to the tragedy of there being a video of it online,” actress Keke Palmer shared on Instagram, referring to a video that appears to show the deceased rapper in the moments after he was shot. “It’s all just tragic and I am so sorry to his whole family and all he touched. Really terrible.”
Rapper Ja Rule aired his grievances about Takeoff’s violent death on Twitter, writing, “this sh*t has to STOP … sending love to friends and family.”
See related article Quavo argued with group of men before Takeoff shooting. An embedded video exclaims that Quavo got into argument outside of the Houston bowling alley prior to guns being fired, and hitting Takeoff [VIDEO].
The msn.com article stated: “In the early hours of Tuesday morning, devastating news surfaced out of Houston, that Takeoff was shot and killed. This is said to have occurred at 2:30AM, outside of 810 Billiards & Bowling Houston. Quavo and Takeoff were initially said to have been playing dice, when gun shots soon fired. As a result, Takeoff was shot near his head, and died at the scene. The article alleges that Takeoff “was reportedly supporting him (Quavo), in that moment. There appeared to be some argument about basketball, as Quavo said “I don’t get down like that.”
