Rapper among 3 killed in Atlanta nightclub shooting

ATLANTA — Chicago rapper King Von was among three people killed in a shooting early Friday outside a nightclub in Atlanta that also left three people wounded, state investigators said.

“The preliminary investigation indicates that Dayvon Bennett, aka King Von, and a group of men left the Opium Nightclub and went to the Monaco Hookah Lounge,” the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.

“Once there, two men approached the group in the parking lot, and the two groups of men started to argue with each other. The argument quickly escalated to gunfire between the two groups.”

The GBI said on- and off-duty Atlanta police officers responded and one of each fired shots.

“During the shooting incident, six men were shot during the group altercation and officer encounter. Bennett and two men died as a result of their injuries, and three were injured and are being treated at a hospital,“the GBI said in a statement.

The Atlanta Police Department said in a statement that its officers did not kill the rapper, who was 26.

“At this time, our investigators believe Mr. Bennett was shot during the initial shootout between the two groups of males, prior to police responding and attempting to stop the shooting,” the statement said.

The incident happened around 4 a.m. No officers were injured.

Last month, King Von released his album “Welcome to O-Block,” a nod to an area on Chicago’s South Side where he was raised.