Migos Rapper Takeoff shot dead at 28 in Houston, reports say

Takeoff, one third of the rap trio Migos, was shot dead early Tuesday morning in Houston, according to reports. He was 28.

Law enforcement sources and witnesses cited by TMZ said the fatal shooting occurred shortly after 2:30 a.m., at which time police were called about a man shot at a bowling alley called 810 Billiards & Bowling. The outlet reported that Takeoff—real name Kirshnik Khari Ball—and fellow Migos star Quavo were playing dice when some sort of altercation erupted and shots were fired.

Takeoff was reportedly hit in his head or near his head and was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.

Graphic images purportedly depicting the chaos appeared to show Quavo wearing an orange shirt crouching down by the side of a man lying on the ground, surrounded by what looks like blood. The clothes worn by the man on the ground appeared to match the outfit Takeoff wore in an Instagram story uploaded overnight.

Quavo is said to have called for help for his wounded friend as people gathered around Takeoff.

Houston Police had yet to confirm the identity of the deceased. Early Tuesday, the force confirmed that downtown officers had responded to a shooting, where one victim was found “deceased upon arrival,” later adding that two other victims had been taken to the hospital in private vehicles.

They said they would not release the identity of the deceased victim until his family had been notified and his identification verified.

The condition of the two other victims in the shooting was not yet clear. TMZ reported that Quavo—real name Quavious Keyate Marshall, and Takeoff’s uncle—was not hurt in the attack. The third member of Migos, Offset—a.k.a. Kiari Kendrell Cephus—is Quavo’s cousin.

Bona fide superstars, Migos came out of Atlanta and have emerged as fixtures on the national hip hop scene for the better part of a decade. With trademark mega-hits like “T-Shirt,” their status as music royalty was perhaps best captured when Donald Glover dubbed them the Beatles of his generation after winning a Golden Globe for his show Atlanta in 2017.

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