Video footage of Takeoff lying motionless on the ground after being fatally shot in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday morning has circulated across social media.
The 28-year-old member of rap trio Migos was at a bowling alley called 801 Billiards & Bowling Houston when the incident occurred at approximately 2:30 a.m., according to TMZ.
Several minutes after the incident, the Houston Police Department released a statement on Twitter, reporting that when officers arrived at the scene of the shooting, “[one] victim was found deceased.”
In a follow-up statement shared on the social media platform, the police department said that two other shooting victims has been “taken in private vehicles to hospitals.”
As news of the shooting circulated across social media, video footage was shared showing the chaos that erupted after the incident as a body was seen motionless.
The short clip showed people standing around the body while others, standing further back, shouted for one of the individuals to move away from the scene of the incident.
Additionally, stills shared by TMZ show a man resembling Takeoff’s Migos bandmate Quavo as part of a group of men who attempted to move the body, before putting him back down and apparently calling for help.
Quavo, whose real name is Quavious Keyate Marshall, appeared to be uninjured.
Per TMZ, Takeoff, real name Kirshnik Khari Ball, and Quavo were playing dice before an altercation broke out and shots were fired.
A purported witness said that Takeoff had been “[minding] his business all night” before the incident.
Hours earlier, Takeoff shared an Instagram Story post of himself posing at what appeared to be the bowling alley on a night of nationwide Halloween celebrations.
Lawrenceville, Georgia-born Takeoff began performing alongside Quavo and Offset, his uncle and cousin, respectively, in 2008 under the collective name Polo Club. They released Juug Season, their debut mixtape as Migos, in 2011.
Migos shot to fame in 2013 with their debut single “Versace.” They then went on to achieve four Billboard Hot 100 top 10 entries and even starred in Donald Glover’s television show Atlanta.
In May 2022, Offset sparked fears that Migos had spilt when he and his wife, rapper Cardi B, unfollowed Quavo and Takeoff on Instagram. Offset, real name Kiari Kendrell Cephus, is preparing to drop his sophomore studio album on November 11.
Regarding Offset’s departure from Migos, Takeoff said during an appearance on the Big Facts podcast in October: “We don’t know all answers. God knows. So we pray a lot. And we tell him, whatever—whatever ain’t right, however you supposed to see it fit, you put it back together or however you do it. Only time will tell. We always family now, ain’t nothing gonna change.”
Quavo added: “We just stand on loyalty. We stand on real-deal loyalty. This ain’t got nothing to do with no label, no paperwork, no QC, no nothing. This has something to do with the three brothers. It is what it is. Right now, we gone be the duo ’til time tell.”
Migos released their final album, Culture III, to critical acclaim in June 2021.
Takeoff and Quavo subsequently formed the duo Unc & Phew. Their latest music video, “Messy,” was released on Monday, hours before Takeoff was gunned down.
Newsweek has reached out to representatives of the Houston Police Department.
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