Young Scooter died in Atlanta on Friday, TMZ reports. He was 39 years old.
The rapper, born Kenneth Edward Bailey, was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, where he was pronounced dead. Emergency Medical Services reportedly transported him from a house on the city’s southeast side.
According to 11Alive.com, the Atlanta Police Department held a press conference about the shooting, stating that officers were not responsible for his death and did not fire any shots.
Police said they responded to a disturbance on the 200 block of William Nye Drive in southeast Atlanta after reports of gunfire and a woman being dragged into a residence.
“When officers arrived, they knocked on the door and a male opened the door and immediately shut the door on the officers,” said Lt. Andrew Smith, commander of Atlanta’s homicide unit, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
According to police, one of the suspects who fled the scene, identified as Young Scooter, suffered a leg injury while jumping fences trying to escape and later died at the hospital.
“He appeared to have suffered an injury to his leg,” Smith said. “Officers rendered aid and he was transported to Grady Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.”
“The Atlanta Police Department has not been involved in any shootings tonight and the incident on William Nye—no one was—there was not a shooting at all,” he added.
TMZ reported that the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office is still investigating the cause of death.
Scooter’s birthday was Friday (March 28) and posts shared to his social media showed him celebrating the occasion.
The hip-hop community took to social media to pay respect to Young Scooter. Playboi Carti posted on Instagram honoring the late rapper, writing, “I GREW UP ON DIS SHIT SMH RIP.”
DJ Akademiks shared the news on X with a rest in peace post.
Fellow ATL rapper Quavo took a moment to remember the late artist.
Producer ATL Jacob also honored the late rapper, revealing the origin of his famous beat tag. “ATL Jacob, ATL Jacob came from Young Scooter man brudda you forever Legendary,” he wrote.
Young Scooter shot to fame after joining Future’s Freebandz record label in 2012, becoming one of the first artists signed to the imprint. In 2018, he scored his first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 with his collaboration with Future and Juice WRLD, “Jet Lag.”
