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Migos’ Takeoff killed in shooting
By Andy Malt | Published on Wednesday 2 November 2022
Migos rapper Takeoff – real name Kirshnik Khari Ball – has been shot dead in a bowling alley in Houston. He was 28.
According to TMZ, several shots were fired during an altercation at a private party taking place at Houston’s 810 Billiards & Bowling in the early hours of Tuesday morning, one of which fatally hit Takeoff. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Two others were injured. The rapper’s bandmate and uncle Quavo, who was with him at the time, was unharmed.
Video footage shared by TMZ appears to show Quavo involved in an argument with a group of men before gunshots are heard. In a statement, Migos’ record label Quality Control said that Takeoff was hit by a “stray bullet”.
“It is with broken hearts and deep sadness that we mourn the loss of our beloved brother Kirshnik Khari Ball, known to the world as Takeoff”, the company said. “Senseless violence and a stray bullet has taken another life from this world and we are devastated. Please respect his family and friends as we all continue to process this monumental loss”.
No arrests have yet been made in the shooting incident. The Houston Police Department says that around 40-50 people were present when the shooting took place and are appealing for witnesses to come forward.
In a statement, according to the International Business Times, Police Chief Troy Finner described Takeoff as “extremely peaceful and loving”, saying: “Anyone with that information should provide that information to us, and let us solve this situation, and bring justice to this family. It doesn’t matter how famous you are, anybody who loses his or her life is a life lost”.
“It is personal”, he went on. “He’s well respected, non-violent. I would not expect him to be involved. People need to stop just pulling the damn trigger, think and calm down a little bit, the bottom line is, and mark my words, we will find who is responsible”.
Takeoff co-founded Migos in 2008 with Quavo and his cousin Offset, originally under the name Polo Club. The Atlanta trio released their breakthrough single, ‘Versace’, in 2013 and went on to become hugely influential through their distinct style of rapping. They released four albums together, most recently ‘Culture III’ in 2021.
Earlier this year, Takeoff and Quavo split from Offset, subsequently releasing their first album as a duo, ‘Only Built For Infinity Links’, last month. Their latest video, for album track ‘Messy’, came out on Monday this week:
