Police seek suspects in rapper’s murder
Police are searching for two suspects after Monday’s fatal shooting of rapper XXXTentacion outside a motorcycle dealership in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The 20-year-old rapper, whose real name is Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, was pronounced dead Monday evening at a Fort Lauderdale-area hospital, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office told USA Today .
Stephanie Martinez, told The Associated Press that she was coming back from the pool with her kids when she heard three shots. She drove to the end of the street and saw the rapper’s body in the black luxury vehicle in which he was killed.
Police said the shooting happened during an apparent robbery attempt at RIVA Motorsports. XXXTentacion was approached by two armed suspects and at least one of them fired, before both suspects fled the scene in a dark SUV.
XXXtentacion’s death was mourned by the music community, with Kanye West tweeting, “I never told you how much you inspired me.” Yet the rapper, who first attracted fans on SoundCloud before achieving mainstream success with his March album ? debuting at No.1 on the Billboard charts, was also a controversial figure with a history of domestic abuse.
At the time of his death, he was awaiting trial on charges including domestic battery, aggravated battery and false imprisonment against his pregnant girlfriend stemming from 2016. Depositions from his ex Geneva Ayala “detail a pattern of regular, torturous abuse (with) daily verbal attacks and physical incidents every three or four days,” per a report from the Miami New Times.