Rapper Rollie Bands was fatally shot outside his home in Tampa, Florida, minutes after daring his critics to confront him.
Bands, an emerging hip-hop artist, was pronounced dead on Friday after taunting his detractors on Instagram.
"A lot of these n****s know where I live at fr," he wrote, according to HipHopDX. “I sleep in peace. If a n**** want smoke I’m at my crib in 5 mins.”
Several minutes later, at about 3.30 p.m., Bands was reportedly shot once in the parking lot of his apartment complex, according to the New York Post, which noted that the suspects fled the scene in a vehicle. Bands was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. Police believe Bands and the suspects were mutually familiar.
"At this time, the shooting does not appear random, as the suspects and victim are possibly known to each other," the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a report.
Since his death, Bands' social media has been flooded with comments from family, fans and critics.
"I'm going to miss you NEPHEW. PLEASE LORD WATCH OVER OUR FAMILY," one family member wrote on Instagram.
"RIP up ARI ever since I met u was always polite and respectful I'm happy my kids got to share memories with u my condolences to your family and to your daughter not everyone is your friend not everybody is your partner …fly high baby boy till we meet again son," a fan wrote.
Others questioned why Bands had shared his location and taunted his critics.
"Bro must’ve wanted to go cause why tf would you do that," one person wrote.
"I mean I get it R.I.P yeah but buddy did it to himself that was basically suicide it hard to feel bad for dude smh," another added.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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