Takeoff performing live. Photo Credit: The Come Up Show
Migos founding member Takeoff (full name Kirshnik Khari Ball) has perished from gunshot wounds sustained during an early morning shooting in Houston, Texas.
Representatives for Takeoff, who, at 28, was the youngest of Migos’ three members, just recently confirmed the unfortunate news. According to local outlets’ early reports, the deadly episode unfolded at a bowling alley in downtown Houston at about 2:30 AM local time, and police arrived on the scene shortly thereafter.
Georgia-born Takeoff (as well as at least one other Migos member) had attended a “private party” at the establishment, per these same accounts, and the function is said to have concluded at about 1 AM. But about 40 to 50 people remained at the location when the shooting occurred about 90 minutes later, Houston Police indicated, and responding officers subsequently identified three victims.
“One victim was found deceased upon arrival,” Houston Police elaborated in a social-media post, emphasizing in a follow-up message that it wouldn’t release the individual’s identity. But as noted, Takeoff’s representatives proceeded to confirm that the Migos rapper had passed at the site of the fatal crime.
Two others (whose identities haven’t been publicly revealed) were “taken in private vehicles to hospitals,” HPD specified, though their current condition is unclear. Amid an ongoing investigation, police hadn’t made any arrests in connection with the crime at the time of this piece’s writing.
“Right now we don’t have a whole lot of information,” one officer told the media. “Everybody fled [after the shooting]. We’ve got some video footage, but not very well. Everybody fled. Homicide investigators are coming. It would be great if anybody would come forward and tell us what occurred, because right now we really don’t have a whole lot of anything.”
Social-media uploads show that certain shameless witnesses responded to the murder by pulling out their cellphones and recording the immediate aftermath, but as the crowd had already dispersed, it appears unlikely that these post-tragedy videos will help to identify the crime’s perpetrator(s). Nevertheless, additional details are continuing to enter the media spotlight via updates from local news stations in Houston.
“Houston Police say that the shooting happened on the third floor of the balcony,” a KHOU 11 reporter said from the crime scene this morning. “Witnesses reported two groups arguing, entourages, and fighting. The next thing you know shots were fired. … Security guards were involved in the shooting, according to police.”
On Twitter, a number of artists, athletes, media personalities, companies, and fans are celebrating the life of Takeoff and offering condolences to his family.